Seemorerocks: The axe falls at the White House after Trump found not guilty

Saturday, 8 February 2020

The axe falls at the White House after Trump found not guilty

POST-IMPEACHMENT AXE FALLS AT WHITE HOUSE

Both Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman And His Twin Brother Were Escorted From The Eisenhower Executive Office Building On Friday.

TruNews

7 February, 2020

The Army officer who played a central role in the impeachment of President Donald Trump and his twin brother have reportedly been fired by the Trump administration.

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman was the Ukraine specialist in the European affairs office at the National Security Office. As such, he listened in on the president’s July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and later alleged that he pressured his counterpart to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.

Democrats and pundits in the mainstream media hailed him as a hero. Supporters of the president derided him as an “operative with an agenda” against the administration’s foreign policy. It was long suspected that his employment would be terminated once the president was acquitted by the Senate.

Earlier in the day Friday, President Trump was directly asked about how he would deal with those who were responsible for his impeachment. He also was asked specifically about firing Vindman:

“Well, I’m not happy with him. Do you think I’m supposed to be happy with him? I’m not.”

Asked if Vindman would be leaving the National Security Council, the president said a decision was coming, but he wasn’t directly involved. He added the press would be hearing something soon.

That happened this afternoon, according to the colonel’s lawyer, David Pressman:

“Today, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman was escorted out of the White House where he has dutifully served his country and his president. He does so having spoken publicly once, and only pursuant to a subpoena from the United States Congress.

“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. Lt. Col. Vindman was asked to leave for telling the truth. His honor, his commitment to right, frightened the powerful.

“During his decades of service to this country, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman has served quietly but dutifully, and he has served with honor. He came into the public eye only when subpoenaed to testify before Congress and he did what the law demanded.

“In recent months, many entrusted with power in our political system have cowered out of fear. And, yet, a handful of men and women, not endowed with prestige or power, but equipped only with a sense of right borne out of years of quiet service to their country made different choices. They courageously chose to honor their duty with integrity, to trust the truth, and to put their faith in country ahead of fear. And they have paid a price.

“The truth has cost Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman his job, his career, and his privacy. He ddi what any member of our military is charged with doing every day: he followed orders, he obeyed his oath, and he served his country, even when doing so was fraught with danger and personal peril. And for that, the most powerful man in the world—buoyed by the silent, the pliable, and the complicit—has decided to exact revenge.

“Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman leaves the White House today. But we must not accept the departure of truth, duty, and loyalty that he represents.

“In this country right matters, and so does truth. Truth is not partisan. If we allow truthful voices to be silenced, if we ignore their warnings, eventually there will be no one left to warn us.”

The statement fails to note that Vindman’s commander-in-chief had ordered him not to comply with the congressional subpoena, and he disobeyed that order. It also suggests that Vindman’s military career was ended; that’s not true. The decorated combat veteran has merely been returned to the Pentagon to await reassignment.

It’s also been widely reported Vindman was escorted from the White House by security. Unless that was where he was found at the time of his departure, that would be a false statement. The National Security Council and its offices are housed in the Eisenhauer Executive Office Building across the street from the White House’s West Wing.

News reports from CNN and other outlets state his twin brother Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, a senior ethics attorney at the National Security Council, was also removed from his post Friday. TruNews has previously reported that he has been connected to the concerted effort to remove President Trump from office—most recently related to the leak of excerpts from the manuscript of former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s forthcoming book.

(Photo Credit: Reuters/TruNews)