Mueller interviewed Kelly for the first impeachment, and Milley cooperated with Jan 6th committee. We’ve heard what they said under oath. It is not like they had any choice in their participation. The House impeachment manager could have called either one of they felt, their testimony was relevant the trial. Of course, McConnell and the Republicans blocked witnesses for the senate portion.
So it is strange you fault them for something they had no control over.
Perhaps you meant why didn’t they go on CNN and MSNBC and tell all like many politicians that worked for Trump?
I’ll copy a post I wrote a couple of years ago.
Two years ago, I met Admiral Mike Mullen, the former Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, under Presidents Bush and Obama at a funeral. He gave an extraordinary eulogy for our friend, that brought tears, laughter, and patriotic pride to all present. Admiral McRaven, of killing Bin Laden and “make your bed” fame, had just written an OpEd highly critical of Trump’s action and was in the news. I asked Admiral Mullen, what he thought of the OpEd. He was quite critical of it. Saying that he thought it was dangerous for senior retired military to get engaged in political discussions because it risks politicizing the military. The independence of the military was more important than a single president. His view was quite similar to what Gen. Mattis has expressed in interviews and his book. I wasn’t happy with his answer, but in a rare moment of humility realized that Mullen, was smarter, wiser, and vastly more knowledgable on the subject, than I and changed my opinion.
So when I saw this OpEd today by Admiral Mullen, I realize this was no “ordinary important person blast Trump” piece.
So let’s dig a bit deeper, into Admiral Mullen’s view. There are roughly 1,000 admirals and generals in the US armed service about 200 who are 3 or 4 stars. Probably 3,000 to 5,000 retired ones and maybe 1,000 senior retired Admirals and General. How many are politically active? perhaps 100-200 tops.
Sure Mullen has been fixtures on Sunday morning shows as first a chairman of the JCS, and then a retired JCS for a long time. CNN and MSNBC hire a handful as a military analyst, but pre-Trump, it was extremely rare for them to be asked much less to answer political questions. When General Colin Powell, contemplated running for President, and General Wesley Clark did, they were not enthusiastically embraced by retired officers. Instead, they were criticized for politizing the military. It is a rare enough event that any politician that gets endorsed by a 1-star puts outs a press release on the endorsement. A 3 or 4 star endorsement gets a press conference, and more often than not a speech at the convention.
It is perfectly defendable position to say as bad as Trump is, the separation of the US military from politics is one of the biggest strengths of our democracy, and any short-term gain is more than offset by the long-term damage it causes.
Admiral Mullen changed his mind, from when I talked to him 4 years ago about speaking out, and by the end of Trump presidency many hundreds of generals and admirals did also. But thousands did not. I think what they did took courage. Ultimately, the thousand who stayed silent, may have helped the country more than the hundreds who spoke out. We will both be dead before we know the answer to who was right or wrong.
In the case of Gen Milley, the issue is much easier to resolve. General Miley is active duty military. It is completely inappropriate for him to speak about any current or past commander-in-chief. He also has a larger duty to the constitution to protect the country from all enemies foreign and domestic. That’s a hell of a balancing act trying to ensure a peaceful transition of power, while avoiding the use of the military. Once that was accomplished, Miley job was rightly to keep his mouth shut. We really don’t want to live in a country, where, the top general criticizes the President. Trump is the exception that justifies breaking rules, but this is not a good thing.