The newly released transcripts are shaking up the narrative surrounding January 6, 2021. According to the Committee on House Administration’s Subcommittee on Oversight, President Trump did, in fact, issue directives for military leaders to ensure the Capitol protests remained peaceful—specifically suggesting the use of the National Guard. The report, presented by Chairman Barry Loudermilk, outlines how top Pentagon officials, including then-Secretary of Defense Chris Miller, seemingly ignored Trump’s instructions.
According to the transcripts, Trump met with senior Pentagon leaders and expressed his concern over potential unrest, telling them to ensure a sufficient number of troops or National Guard members would be present to keep the protests under control. The Acting Secretary of Defense, Chris Miller, reportedly assured Trump that a plan was in place. However, this plan did not materialize when chaos erupted at the Capitol on January 6. The National Guard, stationed just two miles away, was delayed for hours before being allowed to move in and assist law enforcement.
“Pentagon leadership prioritized concerns of optics over their duty to protect lives,” said Chairman Loudermilk. “President Trump met with senior Pentagon leaders and directed them to make sure any events on January 6, 2021 were safe. It is very concerning that these Senior Pentagon officials ignored President Trump’s guidance AND misled Congressional Leaders to believe they were doing their job, when they were not. The DoD IG’s report is fundamentally flawed. It does not draw conclusions from the interviews they conducted, but pushes a narrative to keep their hands clean. We have many questions for them, and we will continue to dig until we are satisfied the American people know the truth.”
The report goes further to suggest that the delay was due to military leaders’ concerns over “optics.” The Pentagon’s hesitation, fearing the public perception of deploying military forces to a domestic protest, appears to have overridden the safety precautions Trump had requested. It also points out that Major General William Walker, the commander of the D.C. National Guard, was placed under restrictions by Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, who held back National Guard forces until hours after the Capitol had been breached.
This revelation has sparked controversy, as it contradicts earlier claims from figures like Nancy Pelosi and some media outlets, who suggested that Trump never called for the National Guard’s deployment. With this new evidence, there’s growing tension between those who believed Trump failed to act and others who now view the Pentagon’s inaction as the real issue.
At the core of the matter is a two-hour delay in communication: despite approval being given for the Guard to deploy at 3:04 p.m., the actual order didn’t reach the National Guard until 5:08 p.m. During that critical time, the Capitol had already been breached, and rioters were inside. Meanwhile, the Guard was on standby, confused as to why they weren’t being sent in to help.
This report brings new light to the chain of events and shows how both miscommunication and concerns over optics played a role in the chaos that unfolded. However, it also raises more questions about who is responsible for the delayed response and whether proper action was taken to prevent the violence from escalating.
Below is the full breakdown:
Days before January 6, 2021, President Trump met with senior Pentagon leaders urging them to do their jobs to protect lives and property. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley, recalls a conversation between the Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller, and President Trump:
Milley: “The President just says, ‘Hey, look at this. There’s going to be a large amount of protestors here on the 6th, make sure that you have sufficient National Guard or Soldiers to make sure it’s a safe event.’… [POTUS said] I don’t care if you use Guard, or Soldiers, active duty Soldiers, do whatever you have to do. Just make sure it’s safe.’ [SecDef] Miller responds by saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got a plan, and we’ve got it covered.’”
On January 5, the Secretary of the Army, Ryan McCarthy, placed unprecedented restrictions on DCNG Commander Major General William Walker to prevent any movement to the Capitol without Secretary McCarthy’s explicit permission on January 6 and 7.
On January 6, 2021, the outer perimeter on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol was breached by rioters at 12:53pm. The DCNG arrived five hours later. Click here to view the timeline.
These transcripts prove President Trump’s senior Pentagon leaders were focused on OPTICS, instead of doing their job, as the Capitol was breached:
Miller: “There was absolutely – there is absolutely no way I was putting U.S. military forces at the Capitol, period.”
Director of the Army Staff, Lieutenant General Walter Piatt: “Was optics a concern for us as we prepared to use soldiers downtown in Washington D.C? Absolutely.”
As “optics” concerns were being discussed and Secretary McCarthy claims he was ‘developing a plan’, the DCNG was ready to move, less than 2 miles from the Capitol – awaiting Secretary McCarthy’s authorization.
Walker’s General Counsel, Colonel Earl Matthews: “We were seeing the Congress of the United States being overrun, and the Guard – and the Capitol Police, the MPD, they need help. We had people at the D.C. Armory who are able to help, and they’re not moving. They’re not allowed to move.”
DCNG Command Sergeant Major Michael Brooks: “They were ready to go, and they just couldn’t understand why they were still sitting there. Literally sitting on a bus, just waiting to drive to the Capitol and do the best they could do to support Capitol Police.”
At 3:04pm, Miller provided verbal approval to Secretary McCarthy for immediate deployment of the DCNG. What was Secretary McCarthy doing between receiving this approval, and 5:08pm, when the order eventually reaches the D.C. National Guard? Why didn’t he communicate this approval for a full two hours?
At 3:18pm, Secretary McCarthy told Congressional Democrat Leadership that the DC National Guard had the “green light” and “is moving”. Two hours would pass before Secretary McCarthy’s deployment order would ACTUALLY be communicated to the DCNG.
In these vital hours, the DCNG had been trying but was unable to reach Secretary McCarthy.
DCNG Adjutant General Aaron Dean: “[Walker] tried to call Secretary McCarthy three times between 2:30 and 5pm. He said, ‘I haven’t heard from him all day.’ When he tried to call his cell phone, it went straight to voicemail.”
