Judicial Watch has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Department of Defense, seeking records related to two conference calls involving then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley ahead of the January 6, 2021, election certification.
The lawsuit, Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Defense (No. 1:25-cv-00439), follows the Pentagon’s failure to respond to a December 19, 2024, FOIA request.
The request sought records and communications concerning two calls hosted by then-Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, then-Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy, and Milley on January 3 and 4, 2021. Participants included officials from the Departments of Justice, Interior, and Homeland Security. The stated purpose of these calls was to coordinate security and establish a “common operating picture” ahead of the January 6 electoral certification at the U.S. Capitol.
Milley previously testified before the House Select Committee investigating January 6, acknowledging a series of interagency meetings leading up to the event :
“So there was a series of meetings prior to the 6th … interagency meetings, with Acting SecDef Miller [and others]. And I’m involved in those meetings as well. These are in the end of December … and then they go all the way up through, I want to say, the 2nd or 3rd or maybe 4th or something like that of January. These are telephonic conference calls to try to figure out exactly what the security measures are going to be for the 6th,” Milley stated.
This lawsuit follows a separate Judicial Watch case filed in December 2024 against the U.S. Department of Justice. That lawsuit seeks details about a reported meeting between Attorney General Merrick Garland and Milley, during which Milley allegedly pressured Garland to target American “far right” militia movements while discussing President Trump.
