" Mr. Vindman, you said in your testimony that you do not know the whistleblower. »« They say Lieutenant Colonel Vindman, please. "
The exchange between the Republic's top Republican intelligence official, Devin Nunes (California), and National Security Council member Alexander Vindman was brief, but he did not escape anyone. On Tuesday, November 19, the Conservative elected officials were confronted for the first time by direct witnesses of the telephone conversation which is worth to Donald Trump an impeachment procedure before the House of Representatives.
On July 25, the President of the United States had indeed requested a favor To his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky: the opening of investigations against his political opponents who constitute, according to Democrats, an abuse of power for personal ends. A diplomat from the Republican Party who became Vice President Mike Pence's advisor, Jennifer Williams, and the lieutenant-colonel told how they found the exchange " unusual »And« inappropriate ".
Alexander Vindman having alerted his hierarchy and considered that the imbalance of forces between the two presidents transformed the favor Of Donald Trump in real " request It is on him that the Republican attacks have been concentrated. Without being able to defend a phone call « perfect As the president claims, the tactics favored by the elected representatives Grand Old Party, who uniformly denounce the procedure launched by the Democrats as a " prank call " and an " parody ", For the moment is to diversion, even though it involves attacking a soldier who came in uniform, a process quite unusual for Republicans.
Loyalty and reliability questioned
Alexander Vindman was able to measure it during his audition. His loyalty and his reliability were questioned, the Republicans questioning him especially about the offer made to him by relatives of President Zelensky, to become Minister of Defense of Ukraine, his country of birth left to 3 years. The soldier indicated that he had taken the proposal as a joke but that he had nevertheless taken care to reject it formally and to inform his superiors. This shelling was accentuated by the publication on the Twitter account of the White House, in full hearing, questioning the ability of " discernment From Alexander Vindman.
