House Democrats accused former acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller of taking too long to send federal troops to the U.S. Capitol as pro-Trump rioters breached the building on Jan. 6.

The much-anticipated hearing by the House Oversight Committee turned into a stage for more partisan bickering, with some Republicans attempting to downplay that day’s events and one suggesting that a California woman fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer during the chaos had been “executed.”

In his prepared testimony, Miller called criticism of the speed of the Pentagon response “unfounded,” noting: “This isn’t a video game where you can move forces with a flick of the thumb, or a movie that glosses over the logistical challenges and the time required to coordinate and synchronize with the multitude of other entities involved or with complying with the important legal requirements involved in the use of such forces.”

Miller also denied that former President Donald Trump had any role in the Defense Department response, recalling in his prepared testimony that the two of them had spoken briefly on Jan. 5 and did not communicate the following day. During the Jan. 5 conversation, Miller reported that Trump told him “‘they were going to need 10,000 troops the following day.”

At one point, Miller clashed with Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) over Trump’s role regarding the riot after the congressman quoted an interview Miller gave to Vice in March.

“Would anybody have marched on the Capitol, and tried to overrun the Capitol, without the president’s speech?” Miller said at the time. “I think it’s pretty much definitive that wouldn’t have happened.”

Miller told Lynch that he would like to “modify my original assessment,” to which Lynch responded sarcastically, “Why am I not surprised?”

Later in the exchange, Lynch asked Miller if he stood by his earlier testimony that, “I personally believe his [Trump’s] comments encouraged the protesters that day.” When Miller answered affirmatively, Lynch accused Miller of “a very recent reversal of your testimony.”

“Absolutely not,” Miller answered. “That’s ridiculous.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Lynch shot back.

In his prepared testimony, Miller said the military “has an extremely poor record in supporting domestic law enforcement” and “should not be utilized in such scenarios other than as a last resort and only when all other assets have been expended.” He also said he was “committed to avoiding” a repeat of the deadly 1970 shooting of anti-Vietnam War protesters at Kent State by National Guard troops.

That wasn’t good enough for House Democrats, who noted the hours-long gap between when D.C. National Guard troops were requested, approved and arrived on the scene. At one point, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) accused Miller of being “AWOL,” to which Miller responded: That’s completely inaccurate. That’s completely inaccurate.”

Some Republicans on the committee also drew the wrath of Democrats with their characterization of the events of Jan. 6. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) told former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, who testified alongside Miller, that 35-year-old Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt — who was shot and killed as she tried to climb through a broken window into the Speaker’s Lobby — was “executed” by Capitol Police. Gosar described Babbitt as “a young lady, a veteran, wrapped in an American flag that was killed in the U.S. Capitol.”

Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) argued that “it was Trump supporters who lost their lives that day, not Trump supporters who were taking the lives of others.” Hice’s fellow Georgia Republican, Rep. Andrew Clyde, insisted that the riot “was not an insurrection and we cannot call it that and be truthful.”

“As one of the members who stayed in the Capitol and on the House floor who with other Republican colleagues helped barricade the door until almost 3 p.m. that day from the mob who tried to enter, I can tell you the House floor was never breached and it was not an insurrection,” Clyde said. “‘This is the truth. There was an undisciplined mob. There were some rioters and some who committed acts of vandalism but let me be clear there was no insurrection and to call it an insurrection in my opinion is a bold-faced lie.”

Lynch accused Republicans of peddling “revisionist history,” while Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who led the impeachment effort against Trump that stemmed from the riot, called on his GOP colleagues to stop what he called “evasions” and “distractions.”

“This was a violent white supremacist mob who assaulted the nation’s Capitol,” Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) proclaimed. “It was a deadly and dangerous insurrection that was incited by Donald Trump.”

With Post wires