Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, attributed the ousting Friday of witnesses who testified during his father’s impeachment proceedings to Rep. Adam B. Schiff.
The first son credited Mr. Schiff, a California Democrat who led the impeachment investigation, shortly after the president removed Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman from his assignment at the National Security Council and fired Gordon Sondland from his diplomatic posting.
“Allow me a moment to thank—and this may be a bit of a surprise—Adam Schiff. Were it not for his crack investigation skills, @realDonaldTrump might have had a tougher time unearthing who all needed to be fired. Thanks, Adam,” he said on Twitter.
Col. Vindman, a decorated war veteran, and Mr. Sondland, a donor to the president’s 2016 campaign, were among more than a dozen witnesses who testified in impeachment proceedings.
They were both fired from their roles in the Trump administration hardly 48 hours after the Senate voted to acquit the president, who had been impeached in the House weeks earlier.
Col. Vindman had served on the president’s National Security Council as an expert on Ukraine prior to being escorted from the White House and relieved of his role, and Mr. Sondland was U.S. ambassador to the European Union until being punted from that position.
Both witnesses testified during impeachment proceedings about the president withholding military assistance from Ukraine while pushing the country to investigate a political rival.
Mr. Schiff, who served as lead impeachment manager during the president’s Senate trial, weighed in on Twitter after both firings were reported Friday.
“President Trump is exacting his retribution, removing those who complied with subpoenas, came forward, and testified about his misconduct,” Mr. Schiff tweeted Friday evening.
Spokespeople for Mr. Schiff did not immediately return a message sent over the weekend seeking his reaction to the first son’s tweet.
The president commented on Col. Vindman’s firing from his own Twitter account Saturday morning, meanwhile, saying the Purple Heart recipient was dismissed in part for being “very insubordinate.”
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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