Trump Says He Sent Vindman to ‘A Much Different Location’

(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump said he sent Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman “to a much different location,” referring to last week’s removal of the National Security Council official who delivered damning testimony against the president in House impeachment hearings.

Vindman “did a lot of bad things, so we sent him on his way,” Trump said Tuesday in the Oval Office when asked about Vindman.

On Friday, the White House dismissed Vindman and his brother, Yevgeny Vindman, following Trump’s acquittal in his Senate impeachment trial. Alexander Vindman, a lieutenant colonel in the Army, had testified in the House impeachment investigation in response to a subpoena. Yevgeny, his twin, was a senior lawyer and ethics official for the NSC. The White House has not offered any official explanation for the ouster.

Trump’s critics have accused the president of retaliating against the Vindmans. National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien said staff changes at the NSC are part of making a “bloated” bureaucracy more efficient and effective, and suggested there may be more departures by the end of the week.

O’Brien said that the White House didn’t retaliate against the Vindmans over impeachment. “The president is entitled to staffers who want to execute his policy, that he has confidence in,” he said Tuesday at an Atlantic Council event in Washington. “There’s absolutely no retaliation with respect to the Vindmans as far as impeachment goes.”

‘He Can Have Him’

The president added that Alexander Vindman is now under the supervision of General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“He can have him, and his brother also,” Trump said.

Asked Tuesday whether Vindman should face disciplinary action, Trump said: “That’s going to be up to the military, we’ll have to see. But if you look at what happened, they’re going to certainly, I would imagine, take a look at that.”

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said Vindman will spend some time at the Army’s headquarters before going to a military service college. Speaking in an interview on Cheddar.com, McCarthy said the move is an “advancement in his career,” even though Vindman’s time on the NSC staff was cut short by about three months after Trump fumed over his testimony in the Ukraine controversy, calling him “very insubordinate.”

Alexander Vindman “was asked to leave for telling the truth,” his lawyer, David Pressman, said last week. “The truth has cost Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman his job, his career, and his privacy,” Pressman said.

Vindman, a decorated officer who testified in his Army dress uniform, raised the alarm over the president’s July 25 telephone call with Ukraine’s new leader, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Before his testimony to House Democrats, the only account of that call came from an anonymous whistle-blower whose identity has remained largely hidden, and a partial transcript released by the White House.

Trump on Friday also recalled Gordon Sondland from his post as ambassador to the European Union. Sondland also testified in the House impeachment hearings, saying Trump wanted to offer Zelenskiy a White House visit in exchange for a public announcement of an investigation into Joe Biden and his son.

--With assistance from Jordan Fabian.

To contact the reporters on this story: Josh Wingrove in Washington at jwingrove4@bloomberg.net;Tony Capaccio in Washington at acapaccio@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Justin Blum, Kevin Whitelaw

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