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Image: Protesters seen all over Capitol building where pro-Trump supporters riot and breached the Capitol. Rioters broke windows and breached the Capitol building in an attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 election.
Protesters seen all over Capitol building where pro-Trump supporters riot and breached the Capitol. Rioters broke windows and breached the Capitol building in an attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 election.Pacific Press / Getty Images file

Trump's former Pentagon chief joins chorus blaming him for Jan. 6

According to Trump's former acting Pentagon chief, "it's pretty much definitive" that Trump's Jan. 6 speech sparked a deadly riot.

By Steve Benen

Donald Trump had all kinds of troubles with his cabinet, including four prominent secretaries who were caught up in scandals that were referred to the Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution.

But the Republican seemed to struggle in particular with the Pentagon. His first Defense secretary was James Mattis, who ended up telling voters that Trump was a threat to our constitutional system of government. The former president then wanted Patrick Shanahan to lead the DOD, but that failed, too.

Trump's third choice was Mark Esper, whom he fired under strange circumstances the day after Joe Biden was declared the winner of the presidential race. The former president then handed the reins to Chris Miller -- for two months.

Now, Miller is sharing some of his concerns about his former boss.

Former acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller told "VICE on Showtime" that he believes former President Trump incited the mob that attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 with his speech preceding the deadly riot. Miller, who Trump appointed to lead the Pentagon after firing Mark Esper following the 2020 election, said, "it's pretty much definitive" that the riot, which left five people dead, would not have happened without the president's "Save America" rally speech.

The former acting Pentagon chief specifically said, "Would anybody have marched on the Capitol, and tried to overrun the Capitol, without the president's speech? I think it's pretty much definitive that wouldn't have happened."

Miller added, "It seems cause-and-effect."

As for the overall tally, a Washington Post analysis added, "[T]o date, six high-ranking officials who have held either Cabinet jobs or jobs generally understood to be Cabinet-level have offered rebukes, linking Trump to what happened that day and/or directly connecting it to their resignations. That accounts for about one-quarter of such jobs."

For the former president and his allies, Republican members of Congress who dared to hold Trump accountable for his actions on Jan. 6 are guilty of an unforgiveable betrayal. But the fact remains that even those who served on Trump's cabinet think those GOP lawmakers were right.