© Getty Images/Alex WongArmy Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman
Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a key witness in Congress' Trump's impeachment inquiry last year, said Wednesday that he's retiring from the military. After more than two decades of military service, Vindman says he fears that his future with the Army "will forever be limited" as a result of his congressional testimony and the resulting political retaliation.
Vindman's lawyer told CNN that his client has suffered a "campaign of bullying, intimidation, and retaliation," led by President Trump and his allies.
In February, the president fired Vindman from his position as the nation's top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council. Trump also fired Vindman's twin brother who served as an NSC lawyer at the White House, while playing a role in support of impeachment hearings against the president. Recently, the conversation surrounding Vindman has become focused on whether the White House was acting to prevent an upcoming promotion for Vindman to the rank of colonel.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy both reportedly approved Vindman's promotion in the last week, following a Defense Department inspector general report into allegation of "inappropriate behavior."
Vindman reportedly decided to retire from the military following conversations with senior Army officials who made it clear that continued career advancement would be difficult given the political fallout from his impeachment testimony.
Vindman was
reportedly told that he would no longer be able to work within his field of expertise, which includes Ukraine. Vindman's next planned assignment was attending the National War College.
During public impeachment testimony in November 2019, Vindman told Congress that he believed the president's eagerness to investigate Vice President Joe Biden and his family's ties to business interests in Ukraine was "inappropriate," and felt he had to report it out of a "sense of duty."
Comment: Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman was a willing tool. Quitting the military was his choice, not coerced as reported. His treatment by the administration was certainly better than the president received from all parties involved in the faux impeachment process. Blaming someone for something they haven't done is the signature calling card of the Democratic steamroller, eagerly embellished by MSM's CNN. Just ask Trump.
The innuendo and drama continues to muddy this situation:
Vindman was told that that there have been discussions within the Department of Defense about sending his name forward on a "list of one" or holding his name back until after the election to avoid impacting the promotions of other service members, the source said.
Vindman's nomination for a promotion proceeded with no flags from the Pentagon. "This was all handled in a normal process," the official said. Esper had already approved the list of promotions put forward by the Army, including Vindman's promotion to colonel, and that list was still scheduled to go to the White House on Wednesday.
After he was fired from the NSC in February, an Army spokesperson told CNN that Vindman had been reassigned to the Department of the Army.
The President later defended Vindman's firing from the National Security Council. Trump complained about news coverage of the firing in a tweet, saying reporting was done
"as though I should think only how wonderful he was. Actually, I don't know him, never spoke to him, or met him (I don't believe!)."
Top military leaders, including Esper, have insisted that Vindman would be protected from retaliation of any kind after he transitioned back to the Pentagon, but some Democratic lawmakers have made it clear they believe that he is still being targeted by the White House.
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois announced last week that she is blocking Senate confirmation of 1,123 senior US Armed Forces promotions until she receives assurances that Vindman's promotion wouldn't be blocked. Vindman's name is included in a later batch. Duckworth wrote:
"Secretary Esper's failure to protect his troops sets a new, dark precedent that any Commander in Chief can interfere with routine merit-based military promotions to carry out personal vendettas and retaliation against military officers who follow duly-authorized subpoenas while upholding their oath of office and core principles of service."
John Bolton said he believed Vindman, who worked under him at the NSC, deserved to be promoted based on what he observed during his time in the administration. Bolton said to CNN's Jake Tapper:
"Based on not just his service, but his twin brother's service at the NSC, both of whom were pushed out of their assignments early, I think they certainly deserve promotion based on what I saw.
"They shouldn't be discriminated against. I hope there's nobody in the White House who's holding this up or putting bureaucratic obstacles in the way. I think this is something, this kind of corruption of this promotion process, unfortunately, typical of a number of things that have happened in the administration, I think it's a bad signal to all of our military."
It is in the Democratic Party's best self-interests, given the upcoming election, to keep reminding and reinforcing their myriad of false claims, unsupported scenarios and accusations against the president. For those who believed them then, they will remain believers no matter how obvious or proven the opposite is/was the reality.
See also:
Comment: Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman was a willing tool. Quitting the military was his choice, not coerced as reported. His treatment by the administration was certainly better than the president received from all parties involved in the faux impeachment process. Blaming someone for something they haven't done is the signature calling card of the Democratic steamroller, eagerly embellished by MSM's CNN. Just ask Trump.
The innuendo and drama continues to muddy this situation: It is in the Democratic Party's best self-interests, given the upcoming election, to keep reminding and reinforcing their myriad of false claims, unsupported scenarios and accusations against the president. For those who believed them then, they will remain believers no matter how obvious or proven the opposite is/was the reality.
See also: