Another Villager book on Trump, this one "Peril" from Bob Woodward and WaPo conservative whisperer Robert Costa, and we discover yet another heart-stopping moment that our country was almost destroyed by.
Two days after the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, President Donald Trump's top military adviser, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, single-handedly took top-secret action to limit Trump from potentially ordering a dangerous military strike or launching nuclear weapons, according to "Peril," a new book by legendary journalist Bob Woodward and veteran Washington Post reporter Robert Costa.
Woodward and Costa write that Milley, deeply shaken by the assault, 'was certain that Trump had gone into a serious mental decline in the aftermath of the election, with Trump now all but manic, screaming at officials and constructing his own alternate reality about endless election conspiracies.'
Milley worried that Trump could 'go rogue,' the authors write.
"You never know what a president's trigger point is," Milley told his senior staff, according to the book.
In response, Milley took extraordinary action, and called a secret meeting in his Pentagon office on January 8 to review the process for military action, including launching nuclear weapons. Speaking to senior military officials in charge of the National Military Command Center, the Pentagon's war room, Milley instructed them not to take orders from anyone unless he was involved.
"No matter what you are told, you do the procedure. You do the process. And I'm part of that procedure," Milley told the officers, according to the book. He then went around the room, looked each officer in the eye, and asked them to verbally confirm they understood.
"Got it?" Milley asked, according to the book.
"Yes, sir."
'Milley considered it an oath,' the authors write.
"Peril" is based on more than 200 interviews with firsthand participants and witnesses, and it paints a chilling picture of Trump's final days in office. The book, Woodward's third on the Trump presidency, recounts behind-the-scenes moments of a commander in chief unhinged and explosive, yelling at senior advisers and aides as he desperately sought to cling to power.
It also includes exclusive reporting on the events leading up to January 6 and Trump's reaction to the insurrection, as well as newly revealed details about Trump's January 5 Oval Office showdown with his vice president, Mike Pence.
Woodward and Costa obtained documents, calendars, diaries, emails, meeting notes, transcripts and other records.
The book also examines Joe Biden's decision to run for office again; the first six months of his presidency; why he pushed so hard to get out of Afghanistan; and how he really feels about Trump. CNN obtained a copy of "Peril" ahead of its release on September 21.
Couple observations, one, this tracks with what we know about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling on Milley to do exactly this on January 8th, two days after the insurrection, that Pelosi-Milley meeting detailed in yet another Washington Post reporter book in July. Now we know Gen. Milley did indeed act upon it.
I don't know how difficult that's going to make things for Milley, the Joint Chiefs chair telling his senior staff to not take orders from anyone but him about America's nuclear arsenal is frightening at best, no matter how you look at it. Republicans will no doubt want Milley fired, court-martialed, shot out of a cannon, forced to watch terrible movies, I don't know. Biden will just ignore them, but it depends on if Democratic party hawks seize on this as a way to go after Milley over Afghanistan too.
Second observation: why the hell wasn't this front page news on January 8th? I mean we knew Pelosi talked to Milley on January 8th, well, on January 8th. It's not like Trump wasn't aware. So why not also report that's what Milley did?
Let's ask these questions, shall we?
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