The absurdity of the scenario was captured in McEntee’s interview with the January 6 Committee:
Q: Is it typical for the Presidential Personnel Workplace to draft orders regarding troop withdrawal?
McEntee: In all probability not typical, no.
As a result of they had been so out of their depth, McEntee and his assistant ended up reaching out to Macgregor once more—they didn’t know how you can prepare the doc they had been engaged on. “I used to be referred to as on the telephone by one in all McEntee’s staffers who was having bother formatting the order and getting the language straight,” Macgregor recalled. The retired colonel advised the thirty-year-old staffer to open a cupboard, discover an previous presidential resolution memorandum, and replica it.
Straightforward sufficient. The duo wrote up the order, had the president signal it, and despatched it over to Kash Patel, the brand new appearing protection secretary’s chief of workers.
Chaos ensued.
Upon receiving the order from his chief of workers, Christopher Miller referred to as Joint Chiefs chairman Mark Milley to his workplace to debate subsequent steps. After studying the order, Milley advised the January 6 Committee, he checked out Patel, who had simply began working on the Pentagon three days earlier.
“Who gave the president the navy recommendation for this?” Milley requested him. “Did you do that?”
“No,” Patel answered. “I had nothing to do with it.”
Milley turned to the appearing protection secretary. “Did you give the President navy recommendation on this?” he requested.
“No. Not me,” Miller answered.
“Okay, properly, we’ve acquired to go over and see the president,” Milley mentioned, noting his job required him to supply navy recommendation to the commander in chief. “I’ve acquired duties to do right here, constitutional duties. I’ve acquired to verify he’s correctly suggested.”
And with that, Miller and Milley went to the White Home to see Robert O’Brien, Trump’s nationwide safety advisor.
“Robert, the place’s this coming from?” Milley requested O’Brien. “Is that this true?”
“I’ve by no means seen it earlier than,” O’Brien advised him.
They had been joined within the assembly by retired lieutenant basic Keith Kellogg, the nationwide safety advisor to Vice President Pence. “One thing is absolutely incorrect right here,” Kellogg mentioned, studying by means of the order. “This doesn’t look proper.”
“You’re telling me that factor is solid?” Milley responded in disbelief. “That’s a solid piece of paper directing a navy operation by the president of the US? That’s solid, Keith?”
