Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified last year that he agreed with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that former President Donald Trump was “crazy” when he promised that the nation’s nuclear code would be secure during his tenure, according to a transcript of his earlier testimony. member of parliament last year.
The transcripts are part of a mass database of evidence released on Sunday by the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol. The documents include detailed accounts of witness interviews, emails between Trump’s lawyers and text messages from those who worked at the White House when the former president’s term ended.
The revelation that Milley agreed Trump was “crazy” was first reported in September in a book about the administration published by journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa. The transcript, however, sheds more light on Milley’s thinking as chairman of the Joint Chiefs under Trump.
When pressed by the House select committee about Pelosi’s concerns about Trump’s access to the nation’s nuclear weapons, Milley said she assured the speaker it was safe.
“It’s a very tight system,” Milley told the panel, adding that he spoke to Pelosi “to assure her that our nuclear system and our strategic system are very secure. [it] It is unlikely that you will launch a nuclear weapon accidentally, illegally or recklessly.
The panel went on to confirm that Pelosi said: “You know he’s crazy, right,” and Milley agreed with that assessment.
“That’s right,” Milley told investigators.
Costa, who is the first to publish details of Milley’s testimony, said the transcript represents “an incredible moment in American history.”
“A House speaker asked the joint leadership chairman if the nuclear code is safe because he fears the president is insane and responsible for making deadly decisions to stay in power,” he wrote Monday. “Much of Pelosi’s legacy, understandably, focused on legislation. But the deep alarm about Trump in the last days, and the steps he took, from a quick call to Milley to force Pence to ask for the 25th time. [Amendment], then move to impeachment, also an important part. They see a system at risk.