Republican George Conway has condemned “gaslighting” by his wife Kellyanne Conway, over her defence of Donald Trump’s decision to fire a national security official who testified at his impeachment trial.

Last week, the White House announced it was firing the US’s EU ambassador George Sondland, and that Lt Col Alexander Vindman and his twin brother, were being removed from the national security council

Mr Sondland and Mr Vindman had been called as witnesses by Democrats in the House, and provided testimony under oath that was damaging to the president, who was subsequently impeached by the lower chamber.

The president has defended his decision to act as he did, tweeting over the weekend: “Fake News @CNN & MSDNC keep talking about “Lt Col.” Vindman as though I should think only how wonderful he was.

“Actually, I don’t know him, never spoke to him, or met him (I don’t believe!) but, he was very insubordinate, reported contents of my “perfect” calls incorrectly, & was given a horrendous report by his superior, the man he reported to, who publicly stated that Vindman had problems with judgement, adhering to the chain of command and leaking information.”

All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Show all 6 1 /6 All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Alan Dershowitz Dershowitz is a controversial American lawyer best known for the high-profile clients he has successfully defended. Those clients have included OJ Simpson, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein. One longtime Harvard Law associated told the New Yorker Dershowitz "revels in taking positions that ultimately are not just controversial but pretty close to indefensible." Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Ken Starr Starr became a household name in the 1990s as the independent counsel who led the investigation that led to Bill Clinton's impeachment. That investigation began as a look into a real estate scandal known as Whitewater, and eventually led to impeachment after Mr Clinton lied under oath about having an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. AP All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Jay Sekulow Sekulow is the president's longtime personal attorney, and, now, personal lawyer in the White House. He has been accused by former Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas of being "in the loop" during the Ukraine scandal. Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Pam Bondi Bondi is the former attorney general in Florida, and a longtime backer of the president's. She made a name for herself in Florida for taking hyper partisan stances on issues, and her penchant for publicity. She is likely to be a prominent public-facing figure during the trial. AFP/Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Pat Cipollone Cipollone is the White House counsel, and leading the president's defence team. Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Rudy Giuliani While not officially named as one of the president's impeachment lawyers, it is hard to ignore Giuliani's outsized role in this process. The former mayor of New York has been making headlines for months as he defends his client, and for his apparent role in the effort to compel Ukraine to launch the investigation into Joe Biden. We'll see how he figures in the actual trial, which he has said he would like to be a part of. Reuters

He added: “In other words, “OUT”.”

Among those also defending the president’s actions were White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway, 53, a Trump loyalist who has been a trusted adviser and spokesperson even before he won the 2016 election.

Donald Trump may discuss hacking of firm at heart of Ukraine scandal with Putin, Kellyanne Conway says

She is also one-half of one of the most unusual relationships in Washington DC, given that she is married to Republican lawyer George Conway, who has become an outspoken critic of Mr Trump.

How the couple navigate their personal and professional lives, is a source of constant fascination to the Beltway’s chattering classes.

On Monday, Ms Coway appeared on Fox News to defend the president’s decision, saying the Vindman brothers were still employed, but that Alexander Vindman’s White House detail was ended and he had returned to work at the department of defence.

“This is very typical to have a detailee for a temporary period of time who then returns to what their full-time job is,” said Ms Conway.

Raw Story pointed out that among them to reject her argument was 56-year-old George Conway. While he did not mention his wife by name, he tweeted: “When @realDonaldTrump says he got rid of Vindman because Vindman “reported contents of my ‘perfect’ calls incorrectly,” he’s admitting he fired the man for giving truthful testimony that led to Trump’s impeachment.”