Biden has 'great confidence' in Milley after secret actions in Trump's final months

A former official told ABC News that then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper was actually the first official to initiate similar outreach to China.

President Joe Biden on Wednesday expressed "great confidence" in his top military adviser, Army Gen. Mark Milley, after revelations he made secret calls to Chinese counterparts in President Donald Trump's final days in office -- and as a former official told ABC News -- Milley wasn't acting alone.

"I have great confidence in Gen. Milley," Biden told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega, during an event at the White House.

The president's defense of Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Trump and now under Biden, came a day after reports that a forthcoming book would reveal behind-the-scenes actions that Milley took to avoid war with China or Trump launching a nuclear strike.

But Milley was not the only top defense official to send a message to China during Trump's final days in office, a former senior Pentagon official told ABC News.