‘No Call? Nothing? Zero?’: General Couldn’t Believe Trump Didn’t Act During Jan. 6 Attack

The Jan. 6 committee began its eighth hearing by laying out how former President Trump abdicated his duty by declining to take action as his supporters were attacking the Capitol. The hearing featured clips of several witnesses testifying both to the efforts of those around the former president to get him to do something about the riot, and to Trump’s insistence that nothing should be done. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley was one of those who couldn’t believe Trump failed to respond.

“You’re the commander in chief, you’ve got an assault going on on the Capitol of the United States of America, and there’s nothing? No call? Nothing? Zero?” Milley told the committee in an interview.

Thursday’s hearing is focusing on what Trump was doing during the 187 minutes that elapsed between the conclusion of his speech at the rally that preceded the Capitol attack and when he finally tweeted for his “very special” supporters who broke into the building to “go home.” It has been reported that the former president spent most of that time watching the riot unfold on TV while rebuffing efforts to convince him to take action. The committee thoroughly confirmed this reporting on Thursdsay.

“What you will learn is that President Trump sat in his dining room and watched the attack on television, while his senior-most staff, closest advisers, and family members begged him to do what was expected of any American President,” Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) teased at the beginning of the hearing, which will feature testimony from Matthew Pottinger and Sarah Matthews, two administration figures who were in the White House on Jan. 6. and resigned later that day. The hearing also featured video testimony from witnesses like former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, who said he had no knowledge that Trump did anything to stop the attack.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), who along with Luria led the proceedings on Thursday, sought to hammer home the early theme of the hearing in his remarks. “Donald Trump did not fail to act during the 187 minutes between leaving the Ellipse and telling the mob to go home,” Kinzinger said. “He chose not to act.”

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