After the impeachment process ended, Trump made it clear that anyone who opposed him had to face the consequences. He fires two important witnesses – the Democrats are horrified.
After his acquittal in the impeachment process, US President Donald Trump struck back against two key witnesses in the investigation. A National Security Council expert at Ukraine White house, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, and the US Ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, were released from their duties on Friday. Both had testified against the president in the US Congress after being summoned to pay a fine. Trump spread biting criticism of Vindman on Saturday.
Vindman received a “terrible rating” from his manager, Trump wrote on Twitter. Vindman had “problems with judgment, chain of command, and information leakage,” Trump said. “In other words, get out!” Trump wrote.
“The most powerful man in the world has decided to take revenge”
The President of the House of Representatives, the Democrat Nancy Pelosi, Vindman called an “American hero”. “The shameful dismissal of Lieutenant Colonel Vindman was a clear and brazen act of revenge that expresses the President’s fear of the truth,” said Pelosi. The US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden called for Vindman’s support. With a view to Trump, he said that he now believed he could do what he wanted.
Vindman’s lawyer David Pressman said on Friday: “The most powerful man in the world (…) has decided to take revenge.” Vindman obeyed and served his country – and had to go because he was telling the truth. Pressman said his client had been “escorted” out of the White House. Vindman was scheduled to leave the National Security Council in July, according to US media reports. He is now returning to the Ministry of Defense. Vindman’s twin brother, who also worked for the National Security Council, was also released from his duties in the White House.
Trump was acquitted of the allegations of abuse of power and obstruction of the Congressional investigation by the Senate on Wednesday with the majority of his Republicans. His spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham then stated that Trump would now speak about how “horrific” he was treated – “and that maybe people should pay for it”.
“It was inappropriate, it was inappropriate”
What she could have meant by this is now clearer. Vindman, a 44-year-old officer, had his criticism of Trump’s testimony during a phone call to the Ukrainian president in November as a witness to the hearing for an impeachment investigation Volodymyr Selenskyj manifest. The phone call had launched the Democrats’ investigation and led to the formulation of the key allegations: that Trump had encouraged his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate his political rival Joe Biden in order to influence the 2020 presidential election in his favor.
Vindman said in Congress: “It was inappropriate, it was inappropriate for the President to request an investigation into a political opponent.” Vindman had overheard the conversation.
Sondland donated one million to Trump
Trump had always rejected the allegations and condemned the impeachment process as a “witch hunt”. Ambassador Sondland had also been a key witness. He had testified in dealing with Ukraine on the express orders of Trump with his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani to have worked together.
Giuliani demanded a “quid pro quo” – in return – for Selenskyj’s meeting with Trump in the White House. In return, Kiev should first announce public investigations into Biden’s damage.
The statement about Sondland’s proximity to Trump was remarkable: Sondland is an entrepreneur who donated a million dollars to the Trump team and was later appointed ambassador. He said to several US media on Friday: “I was informed today that the President would immediately remove me as US Ambassador to the European Union.”
– ,
