Miller Muddied The Waters, But Politics Were At Play In Jan. 6 National Guard Delay UNITED STATES - APRIL 2: U.S. National Guardsmen stand guard near Constitution Avenue NW (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) May 15, 2021 9:00 a.m. During a week of congressional committee hearings seeking to clarify why and how things went so wrong on Jan. 6, the officials testifying passed the buck and confused the particulars much more often than they shed light on what happened that day. In his prepared opening statement, former acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said that he partially held back given the already-tense atmosphere surrounding the day, alluding to calls by Michael Flynn for Trump to invoke martial law and a Washington Post op-ed by all 10 living former defense secretaries calling on Miller by name not involve the military in election disputes.