Retired Gen. Mark Milley’s official portrait as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was taken down Monday afternoon from the Pentagon hallway where all of the paintings of the previous chairmen are located.
Two U.S. officials confirmed that the portrait of Milley, whom President Donald Trump suggested could be executed for treason on Truth Social in 2023, had been taken down from that hallway, and one of the officials said the whereabouts of the Milley portrait is currently unknown.
The portrait was unveiled on Friday, Jan. 10, at a ceremony in that hallway, with both Milley and then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin present. The portrait’s disappearance was first noted by reporters at the Pentagon who observed the empty space where the portrait hung just a few hours before. It is not clear why the portrait was removed from the hallway, but ABC News has reached out to the White House for comment.
Milley, who was preemptively pardoned on Monday by then-President Joe Biden as part of a last-minute slate of pardons, retired as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2023. Appointed by Trump during is first administration in July 2018, Milley drew ire from Republican officials following the United States’ military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
“My family and I are deeply grateful for the President’s action today,” he said. “After forty-three years of faithful service in uniform to our Nation, protecting and defending the Constitution, I do not wish to spend whatever remaining time the Lord grants me fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights. I do not want to put my family, my friends, and those with whom I served through the resulting distraction, expense, and anxiety.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve our great country in uniform for over four decades, and I will continue to keep faith and loyalty to our nation and Constitution until my dying breath,” Milley added.
At the time of his appointment, Trump called Milley a “great gentleman” and a “great soldier.”
However, their relationship began to sour in the summer of 2020, after Milley expressed regret for having accompanied Trump to St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington hours after Lafayette Square was cleared by police and the National Guard of protesters. Months later, after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, Trump reportedly felt betrayed that Milley had called his Chinese counterpart, Gen. Li Zuocheng, to assure him the U.S. was “100 percent steady.”
In unscripted remarks in Emancipation Hall following his inaugural address on Monday, Trump questioned why Biden pardoned Milley, as well as former Rep. Liz Cheney and Dr. Anthony Fauci.
“Why are we doing this? Why are we trying to help a guy like Milley?” he said. “Why are we doing Milley? He was pardoned. What he said — terrible, what he said.”
Biden expressed concerns about political retribution in his defense of the slate of preemptive pardons.
“These are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing,” he said in a statement. “Baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families.
“That is why I am exercising my authority under the Constitution to pardon General Mark A. Milley, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the Members of Congress and staff who served on the Select Committee, and the U.S. Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before the Select Committee,” he added. “The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense. Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country.”
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