Tag Archives: Alexander Vindman

Alexander Vindman Retires from Military

 
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by Daveda Gruber:

On Wednesday the man who was a key failed impeachment witness, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, retired from the army.

David Pressman, Vindman’s lawyer and a former ambassador to the United Nations for Special Political Affairs, referred to “a campaign of bullying, intimidation and retaliation” as a reason for shortening the military career of Vindman.

A tweet from Vindman in civilian clothes typing on a laptop computer announced his intentions. Vindman has only sixteen tweets to his credit and a video of him testifying is his pinned tweet.

Here is the retirement tweet:

Here is the pinned tweet:

Vindman had been fired from the National Security Council and was escorted off  the White House grounds two days after the Senate acquitted President Trump in his impeachment trial.

Along with Vindman, his twin brother, Col. Yevgeny Vindman, was escorted out and dismissed from the NSC with his twin.

Pressman said that after twenty-one years of service in the military, Vindman retired because “it has been made clear that his future within the institution he has dutifully served will forever be limited.”

Pressman put out a lengthy statement that expressed that Vindman was bullied by Trump.

He said, “LTC Vindman’s patriotism 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 has been accused by Democrats of retaliating against impeachment witnesses, including Vindman and U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland.

Sondland was also recalled from his position.

In an article that I wrote on July 2nd I explained that Senator Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., had announced that she had intention to block Senate confirmations for 1,123 senior U.S. Armed Forces promotions until  Mark Esper, who is Defense Secretary, confirmed that he would not block the expected and deserved” promotion for Vindman.

Pressure to Promote Vindman?

The statement from Duckman said, “Our military is supposed to be the ultimate meritocracy. It is simply unprecedented and wrong for any Commander in Chief to meddle in routine military matters at all, whether or not he has a personal vendetta against a soldier who did his patriotic duty and told the truth—a soldier who has been recommended for promotion by his superiors because of his performance.”

Duckman is one of the women who are being considered for the Vice Presidential slot for presumed Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden.

In any case, no one will ever have to be reminded by Vindman to call him Lieutenant Colonel in the future.

We all remember that, right? I know that I remember it well.

Pressure to Promote Vindman?

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by Daveda Gruber:

Do you remember Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman? Well, he’s back in the news.

On Thursday Senator Tammy Duckworth, D- Ill., announced that she plans to block Senate confirmations for 1,123 senior U.S. Armed Forces promotions. Why, you ask?

Duckworth wants Defense Secretary Mark Esper to confirm that he will not block the “expected and deserved” promotion of Vindman.

Vindman, who is an Iraq War veteran, was the Director for European Affairs for the United States National Security Council until he was reassigned on February 7, 2020.

He gained fame last year when he testified about the now famous July 2019 phone call between President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky. That call ultimately became the basis for the Democratic led impeachment inquiry.

Vindman testified that he listened to the July call and filed a whistleblower complaint over concerns that Trump allegedly tried to pressure Zelensky to investigate for Vice President and now presumed Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.

Hunter Biden served on the board of one of Ukraine’s largest natural gas companies, Burisma, from 2014 to 2019.

Trump was accused of using the holding back of military aid to Ukraine as leverage in his request to Zelensky.

After being acquitted of two articles of impeachment in the Senate, Trump removed Vindman from his position.

Duckworth was a helicopter pilot in the Iraq War. She accused Trump of trying to politicize the armed forces.

She said in a statement, “Our military is supposed to be the ultimate meritocracy. It is simply unprecedented and wrong for any Commander in Chief to meddle in routine military matters at all, whether or not he has a personal vendetta against a Soldier who did his patriotic duty and told the truth-a Soldier who has been recommended for promotion by his superiors because of his performance.”

Duckworth went on to say that she will back off her promise if Esper confirms in writing that he will not block Vindman’s promotion to Colonel.

I’ll never forget how proud Vindman was of his title as Lieutenant Colonel, as he insisted on being referred to.

I know that letting my emotions get into my writing factual material isn’t good but I personally would not like to see Vindman get promoted. As a matter of fact, I have a bad taste in my mouth from reporting on his testimony during the impeachment inquiry.

Here is Vindman’s opening statement in the impeachment inquiry.

White House Staff’s Reaction to Vindman’s Departure

 
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by Daveda Gruber:

On a radio show “Geraldo in Cleveland” which is a Fox News Radio affiliate WTAM, President Trump made some remarks that enlightened the public as to the reaction of how people inside the White House reacted to Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman being removed.

Vindman, who was one of the key impeachment witnesses in the House impeachment inquiry, was escorted out of the White House last Friday, February 7th, along with his twin brother Yevgeny Vindman, another Army lieutenant colonel who worked at the NSC.

Yevgeny Vindman worked as an attorney who focused on ethics for the NSC and did not testify in the inquiry.

It appears that White House staff applauded as the brothers were removed.

Trump told the radio show, “Vindman was the guy that, when we took him out of the building, the building applauded. I don’t know if you heard that. The whole building, many people in the building started applauding.”

Trump went on to say that he had never met Vindman but thought his actions were “very insubordinate.”

While referring to Vindman’s complaint about the president’s phone call with Ukraine Trump stated, “First of all, that’s very insubordinate, why wouldn’t he go to his immediate – he went to Congress or he went to Schiff or he went to somebody.”

He added, “I’m not a fan.”

Vindman’s lawyer, David Pressman said in a statement that his client was escorted out of the White House complex, told to leave in retaliation for “telling the truth.”

Well, if telling the truth is allegedly fabricating a recollection that he had no firsthand knowledge of to others is “telling the truth” I’d have a lot of stories to tell.

In the meantime a handful of the House’s 17 witnesses still remain in their posts.

I can always be reached on Twitter to discuss political views.

@DavedaGruber

Vindication: Two for the Price of One?

 
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by Daveda Gruber:

On Friday a man who stirred up some controversy during the impeachment hearings by the House of Representatives was fired by the National Security Council and escorted off of the White House grounds.

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who was on detail to the National Security Council from the Department of Defense may go back there.

Vindman’s attorney, David Pressman stated, “There is no question in the mind of any American why this man’s job is over, why this country now has one less soldier serving it at the White House. LTC Vindman was asked to leave for telling the truth. His honor, his commitment to right, frightened the powerful.”

It has been reported that Vindman’s twin brother Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman has also left the National Security Council. Yevgeny Vindman had been assigned to the office that vetted publications such as books, such as former national security adviser John Bolton’s book.

Vindman has maintained that he was not involved in the vetting of the Bolton manuscript.

When questioned about the Friday reports President Trump told reporters that he was “not happy with him. You think I’m supposed to be happy with him? I’m not.

Trump added that a decision would be made soon.

There were reports that the White House was juggling their options to dismiss Vindman from the NSC in an effort to downsize its foreign policy bureaucracy and the action had no bearing with retaliation.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said, “We welcome back all of our service members wherever they served to any assignment they’re given. As I said, we protect all of our persons, servicemembers from retribution or anything like that. We have already addressed that in policy and other means.”

We all know what Vindman testified to during the House impeachment hearings. His twin brother was in the room listening in support of his brother.

My own thoughts are that if the Vindman brothers were in Russia, they may have been sent to Siberia.

I believe that explains my views of the twins.

I can always be reached on Twitter to discuss your political views.

@DavedaGruber