Jan. 6 FAFO, Army edition

[bigtree]

Carol Leonnig @CarolLeonnig 3h
Biden White House takes rare step, blocks promotion of one of 2 Army generals who initially refused on Jan 6 to send National Guard to Capitol and then tried to cover up their role. Gen Piatt denied 4-star; Gen Flynn got his.

White House rejects promoting general involved in Capitol riot response

The White House rejected a recommendation by senior Pentagon officials to promote an Army general who came under intense scrutiny after the Pentagon’s slow response to the riot at the Capitol, defense officials said, pushing the officer to a near-certain retirement.

Lt. Gen. Walter E. Piatt, the director of the Army staff, was backed to become the four-star general at Army Futures Command by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Army Secretary Christine Wormuth — both of whom were appointed by President Biden — and Gen. James McConville, the Army’s top officer, said two defense officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. The White House declined to send a nomination for Piatt to the Senate for months, the officials said, effectively killing the possibility.

Piatt found himself in political crosshairs within days of Jan. 6 after former Capitol Police chief Steven Sund, who resigned after the attack, accused the general of saying in a key meeting during the riot that he could not recommend to his boss at the time, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, that the D.C. National Guard be deployed to help police quell the violence. Piatt, Sund said, exasperated other senior U.S. officials on a conference call by expressing concerns about how it would look if military personnel responded.

Piatt initially denied Sund’s allegations in a statement but acknowledged in a call with reporters about two weeks later that he had conferred with others who were present that it was possible he made comments to that effect. In sworn congressional testimony, Piatt said in June 2021 that senior Army officials “all immediately understood the gravity of the situation” but still needed to develop a plan before dispatching armed personnel into the fray.

A key difference between the fate of the two generals’ careers was timing, defense officials said: While Piatt had not yet been nominated for a promotion when the assault on the Capitol happened, Flynn already had been confirmed by the Senate in December 2020, before the attack.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/10/29/walter-piatt-army-capitol-riot-national-guard/

...I love how the Biden administration always follows through.

[SheltieLover]

1. Ty, Joe! This pos should be arrested!

[70sEraVet]

2. It sends a message.

That guy will be crying about his lost promotion for the rest of his life!

[gratuitous]

3. Is this the level of command . . . ?

Is this the level of command where if you're passed over for promotion you might as well retire? I'm asking because I surely do not know.