A legal watchdog that has led the campaign to peel away the secrecy cloaking Democratic planning for the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots has turned its attention to calls hosted by retired Gen. Mark Milley with top Pentagon, Justice, Interior and Homeland Security officials.

The Department of Defense announced last week that it plans to reduce the Department’s civilian workforce by 5-8 percent (including 5,400 probationary workers) and to implement a hiring freeze “to refocus the Department on the President’s priorities and restoring readiness in the force.

Trump’s purge started with his firing of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top Navy officer, and the vice chief of the Air Force.

In a dramatic Friday night purge, President Donald Trump took decisive action to avoid a repeat of his first term when he tussled with senior military leaders, by firing America’s top general and removing others in an effort to ensure he has a fully compliant Pentagon.

Trump’s decision to fire the JAG generals gives the game away. I served as a JAG officer in the United States Army Reserve and deployed to Iraq during the surge in 2007. I also served in South Korea during Operation Key Resolve in 2010, a military exercise in which American and South Korean forces responded to a simulated North Korean attack.

If the investigation becomes politicized or divisive, it could paralyze the Pentagon — and create a generation of risk-averse combatant commanders who fear future retribution for their decisions.

For the second time, the killing of George Floyd by a police officer has brought about a breakage between President Donald Trump and the U.S. military’s most senior leader.