Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, 44, is a former American infantry officer who received a Purple Heart after being wounded in Iraq. Vindman, his identical twin brother, and the rest of his Jewish family immigrated to the United States from Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union) when the two boys were three years old.
Vindman is considered to be the National Security Council’s top adviser on Ukrainian issues. On October 29, Vindman — who had personally listened in on the controversial phone call between presidents Trump and Zelensky — testified before the House Intelligence Committee in a closed-door session. He again testified in a public hearing on November 19. Vindman corroborated many of the anonymous whistleblower’s claims about the conversation; he also revealed new details damaging to the Trump administration.
Incredibly, some on the right — including on Fox News — called into question Vindman’s loyalty to the U.S., even going so far as to suggest he might be a Ukrainian spy. In immediate and forceful pushback, those charges were widely condemned as “reprehensible” and “appalling.”
Quote: “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.” — Alexander Vindman, in his opening statement to the House Intelligence Committee
Sources: Wikipedia, newyorktimes.com
Learn more about Alexander Vindman on Wikipedia. >>
Watch “Alexander Vindman Testimony Contradicts ‘Exact Transcript’ Claim” on MSNBC’s Morning Joe [5:41]. >>
Photo: abcnews.go.com