Trump Defense Sec. to Testify He Was Concerned Sending Troops to Capitol Riot Would Give Appearance of a ‘Military Coup’

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Congressional hearings on the Capitol riots have continued this week, and on Wednesday the House Oversight Committee will hear from Christopher Miller, who was the acting Secretary of Defense on January 6th.

Back in March, Miller publicly said, “The question is would anybody have marched on the Capitol, and overrun the Capitol, without the president’s speech? I think it’s pretty much definitive that wouldn’t have happened.”

Miller is one of several officials testifying Wednesday on why there was a delayed response to the mob of Trump supporters that stormed the Capitol.

His prepared testimony, obtained by CNN, reads that he was concerned sending troops to the Capitol would have given the appearance of a “military coup”:

“My concerns regarding the appropriate and limited use of the military in domestic matters were heightened by commentary in the media about the possibility of a military coup or that advisors to the President were advocating the declaration of martial law,” his prepared testimony for the House Oversight Committee states.

“I was also cognizant of the fears promulgated by many about the prior use of the military in the June 2020 response to protests near the White House and fears that the President would invoke the Insurrection Act to politicize the military in an anti-democratic manner,” Miller’s prepared remarks add.

The committee will also hear from then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, and according to Politico, he is going to say “that he believes that the Department of Justice had adequately prepared for the contingencies ahead of Jan. 6.”