Last week the Pentagon responded to complaints that the Trump administration was slow-rolling Pentagon transition briefings with the incoming Joe Biden national security team. A Pentagon statement noted that many factors had impacted the ability to perform the hundreds of national security briefings.
These included Covid and the holidays, as well as Biden team members trying to circumvent the Pentagon to connect directly with various Department of Defense (DOD) agencies. The statement added that only some meetings or briefings had needed to be rescheduled to after the New Year.
Not content with that explanation, presumptive President-elect Joe Biden launched a video on Monday via Twitter escalating the accusations against DOD and the Trump administration.
Biden said:
We have encountered roadblocks from the political leadership at the Department of Defense, and the Office of Management and Budget. Right now, we just aren’t getting all the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security areas. It’s nothing short…of irresponsibility.
Right now, my team isn’t getting all the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security areas.
It’s nothing short of irresponsible. pic.twitter.com/T67NbgSFLl
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) December 29, 2020
However, acting Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) Chris Miller didn’t hesitate to counter the Biden accusations, immediately issuing a statement responding to and correcting Biden. As quoted by American Military News (AMN), Miller’s statement read:
The Department of Defense has conducted 164 interviews with over 400 officials and provided over 5,000 pages of documents – far more than initially requested by Biden’s transition team. DoD’s efforts already surpass those of recent administrations with over three weeks to go and we continue to schedule additional meetings for the remainder of the transition and answer any and all requests for information in our purview.
Miller added:
Our DoD political and career officials have been working with the utmost professionalism to support transition activities in a compressed time schedule and they will continue to do so in a transparent and collegial manner that upholds the finest traditions of the Department.”
AMN continued by noting that the Pentagon also stated that — in addition to the hundreds of meetings and thousands of pages of non-public and classified information — the DOD “has also fulfilled 188 requests for information (RFIs) since transition efforts began on Nov. 23.”
According to AMN, DOD spokesperson Susan Gough said:
We continue to schedule interviews with senior leaders and career officials for early January. Additionally, we will coordinate any urgent Operation Warp Speed or COVID-related requests as they arise over the holidays, as well as provide responses to RFIs specifically related to COVID-19 vaccine distribution.
Gough added that the DOD has three interviews scheduled this week with the Biden team, two of which are Covid-19 related and one that is cybersecurity related. She added, according to AMN, that the DOD will continue to provide the Biden team with access to classified information and visits to the Pentagon.
The Pentagon, she said, will also work with the Agency Review Team to validate a new pilot program designed to rapidly onboard the political appointees of a new administration and provide confirmation support to prospective nominees.
Paul Crespo
Paul Crespo is the Managing Editor of American Defense News. A defense and national security expert, he served as a Marine Corps officer and as a military attaché with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) at US embassies worldwide. Paul holds degrees from Georgetown, London, and Cambridge Universities. He is also CEO of SPECTRE Global Risk, a security advisory firm, and President of the Center for American Defense Studies, a national security think tank.
The STENCH of biden corruption is laying wait to hand America to its enemies. Remember how much biden owes China, Ukraine, Russia. Couple that with the obunglers promises to the Middle East.
Come on folks, give old Joe a break. He just keeps forgetting what he did and was told the day before.
Biden shouldn’t be briefed on anything. Once all the fraud is sorted and proven there won’t be any need to. Biden/Harris nothing but scum.
Why is he worrying about the information, He wouldn’t know what to do with it, He would have to check with Obama…Don’t forget Hillary, She’s involved in this mess too..
He probably forgot that he was briefed. His dementia is getting to him.
We know Joe is not in charge of anything, except trying to read his teleprompter with a modicum of intelligibility. That his handlers have him whining- stop, already! You all have whined, obstructed, lied, destroyed lives of those who dare to oppose you, all the while screaming that you are the victims. Good Lord! I would never trust you with any even marginally classified info – look at your own- guilty- but y’all are in place to CYA. since you are ahead of the gamed per this article – lay off. Figure out how you will boot Joe, then figure a way towards honesty and transparency. (Or is the latter not in your moral code?)
Biden is NOT Our President-!!! Not now, not Ever-!!!
China (biden) wants specific info so they can destroy America faster. China/biden needs a BIG come-up-pence
He would keep Red China ìnformed everything he know.
China is climbing his butt daily for more OF AMERICAS TOP MILITARY SECRETS!
I guess Biden forgot. OR maybe he fell asleep during the meeting.
He is a danger to our National Security! He can’t be trusted!
Just Arrest Biden’s Ass and be done with it!
I think this is the opening salvo in what will be attacks on our Military Leadership and will be four years of budget cuts, programs being ended and damage. It sickens me.
This man is completely unfit for the office of President. He acts like a petulant child, for God’s sake. If he behaves this way with Putin or perhaps the Ayatolla, Heaven help us. Of course, with Xi, we already know, he’ll do the exact opposite – bow obsequiously, while handing him our jobs and all our secrets while he does his very best to get onto his arthritic knees… I’ve seen four year-olds handle themselves with more panache.
Not only is Quo Pro Joe not fit to hold public office, he is not fit to even RUN for public office. I say this not because of his obvious physical and mental shortcomings but because of his lack of character qualities. Then again WHO in the swamp is worthy?
The problem is’t the DOD. The problem lies in the inability to grant Biden a DOD security clearance due to his entanglement with foreign governments, especially the CCP, as evidenced by what has been revealed from the Hunter Biden laptop and Hunter Biden’s former business partner, Tony Bobulinski who was interviewed on FoxNews on 27 Oct 20 by Tucker Carlson, Tony B elaborated on his press conference the day of the third presidential debate.
the Traitor Biden doesn’t need ANY Military Information that will be passed to the Chinese.
this so called man has to be one of the dumbest people ever people like don’t deserve to be anything just like a rabid dog
He thinks DOD is the Department of Dogs and how hard is it to simply bark?