Pentagon Emails Show Confusion Over WH Syria Statement

The Department of Defense was caught off guard by the White House statement warning the Syrian government would "pay a heavy price" if it used chemical weapons again, BuzzFeed News reports.

According to internal emails sent by DoD officials, including spokesperson Dana White and Defense Secretary James Mattis' chief of staff, Kevin Sweeney, the White House did not coordinate with the Pentagon, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, or the State Department when it released a statement on Syria's use of chemical weapons June 26 of last year. The emails were released after a Freedom of Information Act request from Democracy Forward.

"Was there any coord traffic on this?" an unnamed person in the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff asked White and another Pentagon spokesperson, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis. "This is the first I'm seeing about it. Any [talking points] would be appreciated. I'm getting calls from folks in D.C."

Davis responded: "Surprised us all."

White, who is the top spokesperson for the secretary of defense, appeared to only learn about the statement after it was posted on the White House website when asked if she was following "a Syrian statement on chemical weapons."

"No," White replied. "White House is putting this out? Do you have the statement?"

White would later deny that statement came as a surprise in an email to a reporter for Breitbart. Emails, sent the following day, show White telling multiple Pentagon press officers "just because everyone didn't know" about the statement, does not mean Mattis and other top officials did not.

"The WH gets to do whatever it wants when it wants how it wants," she said.

"These new documents reveal what the administration has actively denied all along: The White House failed to consult military officials before issuing a statement on a potential Syrian chemical attack last year," Democracy Forward Director Anne Harkavy told BuzzFeed News. "Worse yet, administration officials lied when questioned by reporters. How can we trust an administration that lies about the potential use of chemical weapons?"

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