Day 1,013: White House official testifies Trump asked Ukraine to investigate political foes

In the ever-growing impeachment inquiry engulfing Donald Trump, the witnesses are lining up to bury him.

Tuesday, that witness was decorated veteran Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman. Vindman testified for more than 10 hours behind closed doors.

According to his opening statement, he noted the intentional harming of U.S. policy by the Trump administration.

When I joined the NSC in July 2018, I began implementing the administration’s policy on Ukraine. In the Spring of 2019, I became aware of outside influencers promoting a false narrative of Ukraine inconsistent with the consensus views of the interagency. This narrative was harmful to U.S. government policy. While my interagency colleagues and I were becoming increasingly optimistic on Ukraine’s prospects, this alternative narrative undermined U.S. government efforts to expand cooperation with Ukraine.

And he outlined the danger and impropriety with Trump’s call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, including noting the obvious intent of personal gain by Trump.

On July 25, 2019, the call occurred. I listened in on the call in the Situation Room with colleagues from the NSC and the office of the Vice President. As the transcript is in the public record, we are all aware of what was said.

I was concerned by the call. I did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen, and I was worried about the implications for the U.S. government’s support of Ukraine. I realized that if Ukraine pursued an investigation into the Bidens and Burisma, it would likely be interpreted as a partisan play which would undoubtedly result in Ukraine losing the bipartisan support it has thus far maintained. This would all undermine U.S. national security. Following the call, I again reported my concerns to NSC’s lead counsel.

As a report in The New York Times noted, the White House’s transcript of the phone call — that was released, at least in part, to the general public — omitted key words and phrases. Vindman said he sought to get some of that material added, but was rejected.

Vindman is a patriot and a White House official testifying as a direct witness to Trump’s conduct. His testimony is yet another nail in a damning coffin outlining Trump’s impeachable actions.

1,013 days in, 449 to go

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