Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley briefed the House Armed Services Committee Thursday in a highly-anticipated hearing. Here's what they had to say.
Lafayette Square
Esper and Milley were asked multiple questions about the June 1 clearing of Lafayette Square that purportedly involved National Guard troops. In his opening statement, Esper emphasized that the Guard was not actively involved in that clearing.
"The Guard did not advance on the crowd," Esper said, adding that they remained in a "static" role that night.
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Esper and Milley both emphasized the importance of protecting First Amendment rights -- including the right to peacefully protest. They were criticized, however, for the reported abuse of the freedom of the press in reference to the physical attack on a reporter and her cameraman.
Most concerning, perhaps, was the persistent confusion regarding who ordered Guard troops to do what during that first week in June. For example, HASC Chairman Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., asked the pair of Pentagon leaders point-blank who ordered the clearing of Lafayette Square.
"As to who gave the order, I don't know," Milley said.
"It's still unclear to me who gave the direction to clear the park," Esper said.
"I find that hard to believe," Smith said.
Soon after the peak of civil unrest operations, Esper ordered an after-action review of National Guard involvement in those efforts across the country, including the use of low-flying helicopters in D.C. The results of that report are currently being reviewed by the Inspector General's office and are expected to be released in the coming days.
Russian bounties
More than once, members of the Armed Services committee attempted various lines of questioning to obtain more information from Esper and Milley regarding the alleged Russian bounties ordered on U.S. troops.
"To the best of my recollection I have not received a briefing that included the word bounty," Esper said.
"We're going to get the bottom of all that," Milley said, adding that families should rest assured that all necessary protection measures are in place. “If in fact there are bounties, I am outraged. That’s a big deal. That’s a real big deal."
Esper and Milley seemed significantly more concerned with how information about the bounties was shared in the first place. Esper has since launched an investigation into the sharing of both classified and unclassified information with the press.
"It's unlawful, and it needs to stop," Esper said of "unauthorized discussions" with the media.
This line of questioning closely followed one during which Esper and Milley both defended the press -- specifically Australian broadcast journalist Amelia Brace who was injured in the Lafayette Park clearing.
"I'm deeply committed to free press," Milley said. "I'll die for the Constitution ... and part of that is a free media."
"The illegal leaks are terrible. They’re happening across the government, particularly in the Defense Department," Esper added. "I’m pushing forward on a new effort to remind people of OPSEC whether it’s pre-decisional, unclassified items or even classified items."
Confederate flag ban
"I personally think the original decisions to name those bases after those Confederate generals ... those were political decisions ...100 years ago," Milley said regarding ongoing name change considerations for the Army's ten installations carrying Confederate names. "And they’ll be political decisions today."
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"Forty-three percent of the U.S. military are minorities," Milley continued. "In the Army -- and these are Army bases you're talking about -- we’re up to 20-plus percent African American. ... for those young soldiers that go onto a base named after a Confederate general they can be reminded that that general fought for an institution of slavery that may have enslaved one of their ancestors."
"There is a process underway," Esper added.
The delay in announcing the change, Esper and Milley explained, comes from efforts to make the ban "enduring" and able to "withstand legal challenge."
Milley -- as Milley tends to do -- made his stance on Confederate symbols clear, calling the Civil War an "act of rebellion" and an "act of treason at the time against the Union, against the Stars and Stripes, against the constitution." And those Confederate officers for whom the Army named bases? They "turned their back on their oath."
Spc. Vanessa Guillen
"As the father of a daughter, that's just a nightmare," Milley said in response to questions asking for justice for Spc. Vanessa Guillen. "My heart bleeds for that family, and I can't even begin to imagine what they're going through. But I want them to know we're going to do everything in our power to make sure that doesn't happen again."
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According to Milley, ensuring it doesn't happen again involves identifying "missed signals" early and acting "swiftly" and "appropriately."
"We express our sincerest condolences. It’s tragic, it’s horrible," Esper said. "I watched this over the preceding couple of months in terms of how it unfolded and I can’t imagine the despair of the parents not knowing the fate of their daughter."
"They’re on top of that," Esper said of the Army's investigation into the circumstances of Guillen's alleged murder. "They have a couple of suspects I think have been arrested, and they’re digging deeply into the investigation. I think we need to continue to pursue that and take a hard look at that."
Esper described the case's "underlying issue of sexual harassment" as a "stain on the profession."
"We've made progress over 10 years but nowhere near where we need to be. We need zero tolerance," Esper said.
The briefing was abruptly cut short before all members of the committee were allowed time to ask questions of the two Pentagon leaders as Esper had a prior engagement elsewhere.
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