Army Colonel to testify it was his ‘sacred duty’ to report Trump’s Ukraine call to superiors

Mod: U.S. Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman heard it all. Including Trump's treason calls to Ukraine.

Army Colonel to testify it was his ‘sacred duty’ to report Trump’s Ukraine call to superiors (Raw Storylink): U.S. Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman is to give damning testimony about President Donald Trump’s July 25th phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, The New York Times reported Monday. “Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman of the Army, the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council, twice registered internal objections about how Mr. Trump and his inner circle were treating Ukraine, out of what he called a “sense of duty,” he plans to tell the inquiry, according to a draft of his opening statement obtained by The New York Times,” the newspaper reported.

Vindman, the director for European affairs on the National Security Council, attended Zelensky’s inauguration with Energy Secretary Rick Perry, special envoy Kurt Volker and Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland.

“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,” Vindman will testify. “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.”

Lt Colonel Alexander Vindman is ‘the kind of witness that prosecutors dream about’: Mimi Rocah (Raw Story link): Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Mimi Rocah said Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman will be a “star witness” when he testifies before Congress.

Vindman, who is on active duty in the U.S. Army and received a Purple Heart for his service in Iraq, is scheduled to testify on Tuesday before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

He is the director for European affairs on the National Security Council and attended Zelensky’s inauguration with Energy Secretary Rick Perry, special envoy Kurt Volker and Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, who have become known as “The Three Amigos.”

For analysis, MSNBC’s Brian Williams interviewed Rocah on “The 11th Hour.”

“Counselor, is this what you would call in the law a star witness?” Williams asked. “Absolutely,” Rocah replied. “You know, this is the kind of witness that prosecutors dream about,” she added.

“For a couple of reasons. One, as you pointed out, he’s a first-hand witness,” Rocah explained. “He was on the call. So, amongst other things, he can be questioned about what were those ellipses in the summary, is there more? I don’t want to raise expectations because this call is damning as it is, but there are factual questions that he now gets to be asked.”

“Two, the Republicans can’t make this argument — which I think was a ridiculous argument, anyway — but they can’t make it with him of, well, he doesn’t have any first-hand knowledge,” she noted. “We need to know everything surrounding the call.”

“And finally, he’s — I mean, leave it to Fox News— but he’s active-duty military,” Rocah noted. “We also have a person of impeccable character and that’s a pretty good witness to have.”

Opening statement by Ukraine expert who was on the call with Trump and Zelensky (Raw Storylink): Monday evening, The New York Times reported on the expected testimony of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander S. Vindman.

On Tuesday, Vindman is scheduled to testify before he House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. The link to Lieutenant Colonel Vindman's statement ishere.

sierramadretattler.blogspot.com