Thompson, Cheney to 'Carefully Evaluate' Facts About Milley's Actions Around Jan. 6

Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss., the chair of the select commission investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, and the commission’s vice chair, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., on Thursday announced that they ''will carefully evaluate'' events at the Pentagon ''both before and after'' the riot.

In a statement released on Thursday, Thompson and Cheney also addressed the recent report that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley called his Chinese counterpart twice in the aftermath of the attempted insurrection and organized a meeting to discuss procedures for military action.

''The facts surrounding steps taken at the Pentagon to protect our security both before and after January 6th are a crucial area of focus for the Select Committee,'' they said in a statement. 

''Indeed, the Select Committee has sought records specifically related to these matters and we expect the Department of Defense to cooperate fully with our probe. Looking ahead, we will carefully evaluate all the facts based on first-hand testimony, contemporaneous documents, and other relevant materials.''

The book ''Peril,'' written by Washington Post reporter Robert Costa and journalist Bob Woodward, claims that Milley was deeply affected by the riot at the Capitol and worried that Trump could ''go rogue.''

Costa and Woodward wrote that Milley called a meeting in his Pentagon office two days after the incident to review the process for initiating military action, including the use of nuclear weapons, and reportedly instructed those in the room that ''no matter what you are told, you do the procedure. You do the process. And I'm part of that procedure.''

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday that President Joe Biden has ''complete confidence'' in Milley, who she later described as a "man of honor."

"I'm not going to add more — speak to anonymous unconfirmed reports about conversations with limited context from here. But what I can assure you all of is that the president knows General Milley, he has been chairman of the Joint Chiefs for almost eight months of his presidency.

"They've worked side by side through a range of international events. And the president has complete confidence in his leadership, his patriotism and his fidelity to our Constitution," Psaki told reporters.

• Milley Defends Calls to Chinese as Effort to Avoid Conflict
• Trump: 'Milley Never Told Me' About His Calls to China