ABC‘s Andy Field - September 15 , 2021 - KRDO‘s Afternoon News

The top U.S. military officer today defended the phone calls he made to his Chinese counterpart in the final months of Donald Trump's presidency, saying the conversations were in keeping with his duties as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In a written statement, Gen. Mark Milley's spokesman, Col. Dave Butler, said Milley acted within his authority as the most senior uniformed adviser to the president and to the secretary of defense. "His calls with the Chinese and others in October and January were in keeping with these duties and responsibilities conveying reassurance in order to maintain strategic stability," Butler said. "All calls from the chairman to his counterparts, including those reported, are staffed, coordinated and communicated with the Department of Defense and the interagency."  Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the president's top military aide, feared that Trump could "go rogue" after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, and worried that he could stoke military conflict to cling to power and derail the peaceful transfer of power, Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Robert Costa write in "Peril."  Milley was not the only senior Trump administration official worried about Trump's behavior and the potential national security implications. CIA Director Gina Haspel also worried that Trump would attack Iran after he declined to rule out military action over its nuclear program in November, the authors wrote.