Trump defends White House sackings
US President Donald Trump yesterday defended the firing of impeachment witness Lt Col Alexander Vindman from the White House National Security Council, calling him “insubordinate” and claiming that he had incorrectly reported the contents of his “perfect” telephone calls.
This weekend Trump ousted two government officials, Vindman and Gordon Sondland, who testified against him during his impeachment hearings.
The president took retribution just two days after his acquittal by the Senate. Vindman, the decorated soldier and national security aide who played a central role in the Democrats’ impeachment case, was escorted out of the White House complex. His lawyer said this was in retaliation for “telling the truth”.
Vindman’s twin brother, Lt Col Yevgeny Vindman, was also fired from his job as a White House lawyer last Friday. Both men were reassigned to other army roles.
Next came word that Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union, was also out.
“I was advised today that the president intends to recall me effective immediately as US ambassador to the European Union,” Sondland said in a statement.
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said on Thursday that Trump was glad the impeachment trial was over and “maybe people should pay for that”.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement that Vindman’s sacking was “a clear and brazen act of retaliation” that showcases Trump’s fear of the truth.
Democrats called it “the Friday night massacre”, likening the situation to Richard Nixon’s so-called ‘Saturday night massacre’, when top justice department officials resigned after refusing to do his bidding by firing a special prosecutor investigating the Watergate scandal. (The prosecutor himself was fired anyway.)
Senate Republicans, who last Wednesday acquitted Trump of charges he abused his office, were silent on Friday evening. Many of them had reacted with indignation during the Senate trial when prosecutors suggested Trump would take revenge against the people who crossed him during the impeachment proceedings.