Trump impeachment witness to retire from US military over 'intimidation'
Alexander Vindman, a lieutenant colonel and national security aide who played a central role in Donald Trump’s impeachment case, announced on Wednesday that he will retire from the army, issuing a scathing statement that accused the president of running a “campaign of bullying, intimidation and retaliation” against him.
The statement from attorney David Pressman said Vindman was leaving the army after more than 21 years in the military 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 honoring his oath or protecting his career. Between protecting his promotion or the promotion of his fellow soldiers,” read the statement.
However it later emerged that Vindman’s name was on a promotion list sent to the defense secretary, Mark Esper, earlier this year, according to one US official familiar with the matter.
But that list was delayed for weeks because the White House asked for an investigation of Vindman. The Pentagon did a review and found that any suggestion of misconduct was unfounded.
The official said the list was resent to Esper about a month ago, but again was delayed. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, and another official said Esper signed the promotion list this week.
Pressman said Vindman “did what the law compelled him to do; and for that he was bullied by the President and his proxies” and that his patriotism had cost him his career.
The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump fired Vindman, who was serving as the top Ukraine expert on the national security council, in February, just two days after the president’s acquittal by the Senate in his impeachment trial.
The move was seen as part of a pattern of demotions and firings of top administration officials who testified unfavorably towards the president in the impeachment inquiry.
Ultimately, Vindman decided to retire from the military rather than attending the National War College, which was his next planned assignment, after speaking with senior army officials who made clear that there were forces working against his advancement within the military.
Specifically, Vindman was told by senior army officials that he would no longer be deployable in his area of expertise, which includes Ukraine, the source familiar with the situation told CNN, which broke the story.
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 last year that he didn’t think it was “proper” for Trump to “demand that a foreign government investigate” former vicepresident and now election rival 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.
In gripping testimony, Vindman also spoke of his family’s story and his father bringing them to the US from the Soviet Union when he was a young child.
“Dad, my sitting here today in the US Capitol, talking to our elected officials, is proof that you made the right decision 40 years ago to leave the Soviet Union and come here to United States of America in search of a better life for our family,” he testified. “Do not worry, I will be fine for telling the truth.”