Army officer who raised red flag during Trump impeachment resigns
WASHINGTON — Lt.-Col. Alexander Vindman, a national security aide who played a central role in U.S. President Donald Trump’s impeachment case, announced his retirement from the Army on Wednesday in a scathing statement that accused the president of running a “campaign of bullying, intimidation, and retaliation.”
The statement from attorney David Pressman said Vindman, 45, was leaving the Army after more than 21 years after it had been made clear “that his future within the institution he has dutifully served will forever be limited.”
“Through a campaign of bullying, intimidation, and retaliation, the President of the United States attempted to force LTC Vindman to choose: Between adhering to the law or pleasing a President. Between honouring his oath or protecting his career. Between protecting his promotion or the promotion of his fellow soldiers,” read the statement, first obtained by CNN.
Vindman’s name was on a promotion list sent to Defence Secretary Mark Esper earlier this year, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter. But that list was delayed for weeks because the White House asked for an investigation of Vindman, one of the officials said. The Pentagon did a review and found that any suggestion of misconduct was unfounded. One official said the list was resent to Esper about a month ago, but again was delayed.
A senior defence official said the list was held up by a routine personnel review, not related to Vindman. Esper received the final promotion list on Monday and approved it, with Vindman’s name included, and it was expected to be sent to the White House in the next day or two, the defence official said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an internal personnel matter.
It’s not clear whether Esper already knew of Vindman’s plan to retire before he signed the list, or whether the White House would have approved the promotion list. The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Pressman said Vindman “did what the law compelled him to do; and for that he was bullied by the President and his proxies.”
“LTC Vindman’s patriotism,” he said, “has cost him his career. Today our country loses a devoted soldier, but it is incumbent upon all of us to ensure it does not lose the values he represents.”
Trump in February ousted Vindman from his job on the National Security Council, where he served as an expert on Ukraine, just two days after the president’s acquittal by the Senate. Vindman’s lawyer said then that his client had been told to leave in retaliation for “telling the truth.”
Vindman’s twin brother, Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, was also asked to leave his job as a White House lawyer. Both men were reassigned to the Army.
Vindman had testified that he didn’t think it was “proper” for Trump to “demand that a foreign government investigate” former Vice-President Joe Biden and his son’s work for the energy company Burisma in Ukraine. And he told impeachment investigators that he twice raised concerns over the administration’s push to have Ukraine investigate the Bidens.
In the aftermath, senior Pentagon leaders insisted that Vindman would not see any retaliation as a result of the testimony. Talking to reporters in November, Esper said the department has protections for whistleblowers.
Vindman ”shouldn’t have any fear of retaliation. That’s DOD’s position,” Esper said, adding that he flatly rejected suggestions that the soldier’s career was over. He said he had spoken with Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy about the matter.
McCarthy said in February that Vindman was not under investigation, and that he was serving in an Army headquarters job and would go on to senior service college in the summer.