Official says they can't imagine what Trump will do -- but he won't support Col. Vindman being promoted: report
President Donald Trump lashed out at Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who was subpoenaed to testify before Congress. The Purple Heart awardee appeared and told the truth about his concerns, but it got him "reassigned" from his position in the White House. Now it threatens to stop him from being promoted to colonel.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Vindman is among the military members on track to be promoted this year after his long service to the U.S. Army. There's a concern, however, that Trump will intervene and stop it from happening.
"A senior official said the White House has not received or approved a list of those up for promotions," said the Post. "A second official said that Trump dislikes Vindman more than any other witness in the impeachment proceeding and noted that he was the first one fired when it ended."
“The president said it was a ‘total disgrace’ what he did,” the official told the Post. The official also said that they didn't know what Trump would do about Vindman but they couldn't imagine he would support the promotion.
"The uncertainty surrounding Vindman’s promotion comes at a sensitive moment for Pentagon leaders as they seek to move past a major crisis in civil-military relations caused by the participation of armed forces in the response to recent civil unrest and the perception that top Defense Department officials were inappropriately involved in one of the most politically and racially charged episodes in recent U.S. history," said the Post.
While Vindman followed the protocol for reports of concerns, Trump still couldn't handle being outed about former Vice President Joe Biden's only living son. Trump was ultimately impeached after months of investigations. Former national security adviser John Bolton said in his new book that Trump absolutely attempted to bribe Ukraine. Bolton refused to testify before Congress, however, and the Republican-led Senate refused to call him to testify.
Vindman “was very insubordinate, reported contents of my ‘perfect’ calls incorrectly, & was given a horrendous report by his superior,” Trump tweeted after the officer was removed from the White House. “In other words, ‘OUT.’”
“For his lifetime of service and his commitment to the rule of law, Lt. Col. Vindman has been targeted by the President and his proxies in an effort to humiliate and intimidate,” Vindman's attorney, David Pressman, said in a statement.
“Unsatisfied by the results of their campaign of intimidation, the White House has also sought to retaliate. This campaign of intimidation and retaliation has led a decorated soldier to be marched out of the White House, his family threatened, and now a coordinated effort to forever limit his ability to continue to serve our country,” he added.
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