President Trump and his allies attacked Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman as he testified in the House impeachment inquiry Tuesday, sparking a rare moment of unity as Democrats and Republicans defended the character of the National Security Council member.
The Army officer, a Purple Heart recipient who was a White House specialist on Ukraine and Russia, was cast as a “Never Trumper” by the president before his testimony began Tuesday morning. Lt. Col. Vindman testified that he twice raised concerns about Mr. Trump’s push during his July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joseph R. Biden and Democrats.
“Supposedly, according to the Corrupt Media, the Ukraine call ’concerned’ today’s Never Trumper witness. Was he on the same call that I was? Can’t be possible! Please ask him to read the Transcript of the call. Witch Hunt!” Mr. Trump tweeted.
Mr. Vindman is the first person to testify who actually heard the phone call and is the first current White House official to testify.
Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer who is at the center of an alleged “shadow” foreign policy pressing Ukraine for the investigations into the 2016 presidential election and Mr. Biden, decried Lt. Col. Vindman as a “another shifty backfire.”
“A US gov. Employee who has reportedly been advising two gov’s?” he tweeted. “No wonder he is confused and feels pressure.”
On the cable news shows, two Trump defenders — former Rep. Sean Duffy and former Bush administration official John Yoo — called into question Mr. Vindman’s loyalty to America, suggesting he might be overly invested in Ukrainian interests.
Lt. Col. Vindman, who was born in Ukraine, was 3 years old when his family fled the country, then a Soviet republic, for the U.S.
Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney, the third-ranking House Republican, strongly condemned those types of comments and said it was “shameful” to question Mr. Vindman’s character.
“We need to show that we are better than that as a nation. We’re talking about decorated veterans who have served this nation, who’ve put their lives on the line,” she said.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy praised Mr. Vindman’s military sacrifice, but stressed that the public transcript of the president’s phone call with Mr. Zelensky shows nothing was amiss.
“I thank him for his service,” the California Republican said. “But he is wrong on this.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declined to comment on the reports coming out of Mr. Vindman’s closed-door meeting, but refused to criticize the military officer.
“I’m not going to question the patriotism of any of the people coming forward,” he told reporters.
Democrats said the criticisms show that Republicans are pinned in a corner and running out of ways to defend the president.
“If that’s all they’ve got is to question the patriotism of a lieutenant colonel, who took a bullet for us and had a Purple Heart on the battlefield — well, good luck with that,” said Wisconsin Rep. Ron Kind.
The Ukraine investigation, led by the House Intelligence, Oversight and Reform and Foreign Affairs committees, has been taking place behind closed doors and at a rapid pace over the last few weeks.
In his opening statement publicly released before his testimony began, Lt. Col. Vindman told lawmakers that he warned Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, who is a key player in the Ukraine incident, that the push to open an investigation into Mr. Biden and his son Hunter, who was on the board of a Ukrainian energy company, crossed a line. He also said he raised his concerns with the National Security Council’s lead counsel.
⦁ This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.