Sunny Hostin said Wednesday that she was wrong to suggest Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley had engaged in treasonous actions.
Hostin said on ABC’s “The View” that, after hearing Milley’s testimony on Capitol Hill, she felt his actions were not as egregious as they had been made to look in “Peril,” the new book from journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.
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In her initial response to the book — which suggested that Milley had gone outside the chain of command in order to protect America and the world from a rogue former President Donald Trump — Hostin had agreed with Trump’s assessment that Milley’s actions could be labeled “treason.”
“That’s no excuse for a silent coup,” Hostin said at the time. (RELATED: ‘No Excuse For A Silent Coup’: ‘The View’ Co-Hosts Go At It Over Gen. Milley’s Alleged Treason In 2-On-2 Battle)
But following Milley’s testimony on Capitol Hill, during which he addressed phone calls he made to his Chinese counterpart and to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Hostin said she was convinced he had done so within his role as a military adviser.
“I will say one of the things that for me was very important was Milley’s testimony about his call with China, I was pretty harsh in my judgment of him, because I thought it was treasonous that he sort of – my understanding he back-channelled with China, he spoke directly with China without approval,” Hostin explained.
“But it wasn’t so. I should know better, I should have had more information and I acted upon limited information,” Hostin continued, noting that Milley had reportedly coordinated those calls with the right people in the chain of command. “I owe him an apology. He didn’t act rogue and that was very important – it’s important for me to acknowledge, but it’s important that he maintained the military command.”