Pentagon pulls security clearance of former US Joint Chiefs of Staff Milley
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General (Ret) Milley’s photo was removed from the Pentagon shortly after US President Donald Trump was sworn into office.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON - United States Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is revoking the security clearance and personal security detail for retired army general and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, a Pentagon spokesperson said in a statement on Jan 28.
Mr Hegseth has also directed the Department of Defence Office of Inspector General to open an inquiry into General (Ret) Milley’s conduct to determine whether it is appropriate to reopen an assessment of the general’s military grade, according to the Pentagon.
“Undermining the chain of command is corrosive to our national security,” Mr Joe Kasper, the Defence Department Chief of Staff, said in a statement.
Representatives for Gen (Ret) Milley could not be immediately reached.
The news was first reported by Fox News on Jan 28.
Gen (Ret) Milley was among the pre-emptive pardons that former president Joe Biden issued
Gen (Ret) Milley has said he was grateful for the pardon by Mr Biden, who said Gen (Ret) Milley and others “do not deserve to be the targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions”.
President Donald Trump had once suggested Gen (Ret) Milley should be executed for holding back-channel talks with China.
Gen (Ret) Milley’s photo was removed from the Pentagon shortly after Mr Trump was sworn into office.
The second and last portrait of Gen (Ret) Milley will also be removed from the Pentagon, Fox News reported. REUTERS
