Today's D Brief: Miller testifies on Jan. 6 riot; Israel-Gaza fight escalates; ‘Professional-scale hack-for-ransom’; US drops Xiaomi sanction; And a bit more.
By Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
May 12, 2021 10:57 AM ET
The D Brief
Why was the U.S. military so slow to respond to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot? That’s the focus of a hearing today before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
Key witness: Former Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, who said he was aware protestors had entered the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 for roughly one hour before he met with top military leaders to coordinate a response, Defense One’s Tara Copp reports.
In his testimony, Miller said he became aware of the breach between 1:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. and met with Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy around 2:30 p.m. National Guard members did not arrive on scene until 5:22 p.m., a time lag which Miller said in his testimony has been unfairly criticized.
“This isn’t a video game where you can move forces with the flick of a thumb,” Miller said in his written remarks. “We appreciated the seriousness of the situation, but we did not want to piece-meal National Guard forces into the zone of conflict.”
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/05/the-d-brief-may-12-2021/173978/
