In Thursday’s call, Lieutenant-General Walter Piatt, who serves as director of the Army’s General Staff, acknowledged for the first time that he may have expressed concern about the “optics” of sending more troops to the streets of the country’s capital , despite previously strenuously denying that he has already made such a statement. And Flynn, the deputy chief of staff of the Army, said he was in the room for part of the call that included Piatt, then Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, Mayor Muriel Bowser of DC and others, but he wasn’t sure if he spoke.
‘No intention to cheat’
Army spokeswoman General Amy Hannah insisted that defense officials “had no intention of deceiving” anyone and claimed that the Army never misrepresented Flynn’s participation in the summons because she never made an official statement about him before Wednesday market.
“We cannot explain any comments made … by an anonymous employee,” said Hannah.
In the days following the riots, the Army organized several briefings with anonymous senior defense officials, while insisting that these briefings remain “in the background”, even when reporters pressured to register.
Piatt, a three-star general, said he may have talked about the “optics” of putting troops in riots on the streets of the capital after speaking to note takers, but he did not remember the “chaos” of an urgent phone call while officers from Washington asked for immediate help from the army.
“If anyone says I said that, I don’t remember saying it, it’s the best I can say, I’m not trying to deceive anyone, I’m just being as honest as I can,” said Piatt.
But Piatt vehemently denied that he was concerned about the optics last week after the Washington Post quoted former US Capitol police chief Steven Sund, accusing Piatt of not liking “the look of the National Guard by maintaining a police line. with the Capitol in the background. ” Piatt said he “did not make the statement or any comment similar to what was attributed” to him.
On Thursday night, Piatt adopted a completely different tone after conferring with the note takers in the room. “Some people say I may have said that, so okay, I may have said that, I will not deny what they said. I am not aware of a transcript. I have not seen any. If there is one, we would love to see it.”
Piatt, who faced accusations from Sund and DC officials that he rejected a request to send additional troops, emphasized that he said three times on the call that he had no authority to summon more national guards. “I stressed that the army secretary was below the acting defense secretary and that he needed to make that decision,” said Piatt.
During the January 6 call, Flynn came into the room and listened for a total of four minutes, he said on the call to reporters on Thursday, clarifying for the first time about his involvement, just a day after the Army first acknowledged time he was always on the call. Flynn said he was at a meeting at the Pentagon when he was interrupted and told McCarthy that he needed him urgently. He said he arrived at the office just as McCarthy was leaving to see then-acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller to authorize the deployment of more troops.
Flynn said he entered the room for about four minutes and listened, along with Piatt and Deputy General Counsel Michelle Pierce.
“As for me speaking on that conference call, if the microphone was open, I may have said something to Michelle Pierce or Walt Piatt. I don’t remember saying anything at the conference, but I may have said it. I just don’t remember saying anything to the audience on the other side. “
Flynn’s brother contested Biden’s victory
“The Army leadership has complete confidence in the integrity, honor and service of Lieutenant General Flynn and Lieutenant General Walter Piatt, director of the Army’s staff,” said General Hannah. Charles Flynn categorically denied that Michael Flynn had any influence on his actions or decisions.
The official timeline for Miller’s office listed McCarthy, Bowser, the city’s deputy mayor, the director of DC’s Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency Christopher Rodriguez and the leadership of the Metropolitan Police Department as participants in the call. Authorities said Piatt was also on the call.
But there was no mention of the involvement of Charles Flynn, a three-star general who has already been approved by Congress for a fourth star. Flynn is responsible for operations, plans and training, but he is not part of the DC National Guard chain of command and has no authority to send troops.
In the official schedules released by the Department of Defense after the turmoil, Charles Flynn was not listed as a participant in any of the calls that day about mobilizing the National Guard to respond to the turmoil.
In the days leading up to January 6, Pentagon officials were sensitive to the placement of troops on the streets of DC, especially after the criticism they faced after the Army’s response to the June protests.
However, the Pentagon mobilized 340 members of the DC National Guard, asking the city and the Capitol Police if they needed more troops. They both said no. But with the rapidly deteriorating situation on Jan. 6, the now ousted Capitol Chief of Police, Stephen Sund, and DC officials say military leaders have been shaken and concerned by the public perception that more troops are being sent to the streets. again.
Charles Flynn’s open involvement, just a day after his brother, Michael Flynn, instigated Trump’s support with shouts of a stolen election and violent images, would only have increased that scrutiny. Old Flynn was banned permanently from Twitter for promoting QAnon and spreading lies and conspiracy theories about the presidential election. Michael Flynn, who briefly served as Trump’s first national security adviser, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his talks with Russian diplomats before Trump pardoned him in November.