The Washington Post headlined the story this way:
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman retires, citing a campaign of ‘bullying’ and ‘retaliation’ by Trump after impeachment testimony
The story says this, with bold print supplied for emphasis:
“An Army officer who played a high-profile role in President Trump’s impeachment proceedings is retiring from the military over alleged “bullying” and “retaliation” by the president, his attorney said Wednesday.
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who served as a national security aide at the White House until earlier this year and was up for promotion to colonel, will leave the military instead, his attorney, David Pressman, said in a statement.
‘Through a campaign of bullying, intimidation, and retaliation, the president of the United States attempted to force LTC Vindman to choose: Between adhering to the law or pleasing a President. Between honoring his oath or protecting his career. Between protecting his promotion or the promotion of his fellow soldiers,’ Pressman said. ‘LTC Vindman’s patriotism has cost him his career.’”
Say what? Talk about turning the facts upside down.
The fact of the matter here is that Lt. Col. Vindman decided he didn’t agree with the President. Fair enough. As someone who has worked for a President myself, here’s what Vindman needed to do. He needed to make an appointment to see his immediate boss or even the President himself. In this meeting he should have told his boss or the President that he, Vindman, disagreed with the President’s policy on Ukraine, and therefore was resigning. Then he hands his boss or the President – his commander-in-chief and therefore his ultimate boss in the chain of command – his letter of resignation and requests a transfer elsewhere in the military. Or does what he has just done – retire and leave the Army permanently.
But that’s not what Vindman did. Instead, like a character out of the old bestseller thriller and movie Seven Days in May, in which the Joint Chiefs of Staff plot to overthrow the elected President of the United States, Vindman skulked around the White House plotting and scheming to undermine the President. Not unlike the FBI’s James Comey and the crew of FBI Deep State Trump-haters, Vindman had contempt for the elected President and set about undermining him.
Over here at the American Military News, there is this:
“Vindman testified in November before the U.S. House of Representatives that Trump had strayed from talking points Vindman set out for the planned call with Zelensky and acted ‘inappropriately’ during the call. Vindman’s testimony helped advance Democrat-led impeachment efforts.”
Got that? In other words, Vindman openly admitted that the President “had strayed from talking points Vindman set out for the planned call with (Ukraine’s president) Zelensky.”
Not to put too fine a point on this, but the President – this president or any other – is elected to conduct foreign policy. If, in this case, President Trump chooses to “stray” from some staffer’s talking points – that is exactly why he is elected President in the first place. The American people get to make the call as to whether a president’s policy call is good, bad, or indifferent. That decision does not rest in the hands of an Army Lieutenant Colonel on the White House staff. And as mentioned, if said staffer disagrees with the policy in question – then resign.
No one is suggesting Lt. Col. Vindman shouldn’t be thanked for his service. But the notion that what he did while serving as a member of the White House staff is seriously wrong.
In fact, it’s a disgrace.
