House

Former acting Defense secretary under Trump met with Jan. 6 committee: report

Former acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, who served under former President Trump, met last week with the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, according to NBC News.

A source familiar with the committee’s activities told NBC that Miller, who was the acting Defense secretary at the time of the attack, met with the panel on Friday, though it is unclear exactly what was discussed. As NBC noted, Miller’s former chief of staff Kash Patel met with the panel last month.

Miller previously accused former President Trump of being responsible for inciting the deadly attack on the Capitol.

During an interview with Vice in March, Miller said, “Would anybody have marched on the Capitol, and tried to overrun the Capitol, without the president’s speech? I think it’s pretty much definitive that wouldn’t have happened.”

“The question is, did he know he was enraging people to do that? I don’t know,” he added.

Though several Trump White House staffers and Cabinet members resigned following the attack, Miller stayed on until President Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

News of Miller’s apparent cooperation with the Jan. 6 panel comes just days after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) adamantly refused to comply with the committee’s request to speak with the panel of lawmakers.

“As a representative and the leader of the minority party, it is with neither regret nor satisfaction that I have concluded to not participate with this select committee’s abuse of power that stains this institution today and will harm it going forward,” McCarthy said Wednesday.