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| Shealah Craighead/White House |
"I should not have been there," Milley said in a video to graduates of the National Defense University. "My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics."
"As a commissioned uniformed officer, it was a mistake that I have learned from, and I sincerely hope you all can learn from," Milley added. "We who wear the cloth of our nation come from the people of our nation. And we must hold dear the principle of an apolitical military that is so deeply rooted in the very essence of our Republic. And this is not easy. It takes time and work and effort. But it may be the most important thing each and every one of us does every single day."
The comments come after harsh scrutiny after a group of peaceful protesters were forcibly cleared out of the area, including former Defense Secretary James Mattis.
Attorney General William Barr said in an interview with CBS’s “Face the Nation”, "This was not an operation to respond to that particular crowd," Barr said. "It was an operation to move the perimeter one block."
The clearing and Trump’s visit to the church "were not connected," Barr said.