Army officer was removed from his post last week after providing damaging testimony during the House impeachment inquiry

This article is more than 7 months old

This article is more than 7 months old

Donald Trump said on Tuesday the military may consider disciplining Alexander Vindman, the former White House National Security Council official who testified in Trump’s impeachment trial.

Vindman, an army lieutenant colonel who provided some of the most damaging testimony during the House impeachment inquiry into Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, was removed from his White House job last week.

“We sent him on his way to a much different location and the military can handle him any way they want,” Trump said.

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Asked if he was suggesting that Vindman face disciplinary action, Trump said that would be up to the military.

“If you look at what happened … they’re going to certainly, I would imagine, take a look at that,” Trump said.

In his testimony, Vindman, then the NSC’s top Ukraine expert, said that Trump’s request that Ukraine investigate the “2016 election, the Bidens and Burisma” – which could boost Trump’s re-election – was “inappropriate and had nothing to do with national security”.

A line from Vindman’s testimony about the rule of law in the United States, “here, right matters”, became a refrain in the Democrats’ impeachment case against Trump. The Republican president was acquitted in the Republican-majority Senate after being impeached in the Democratic-controlled House.

“I obviously wasn’t happy with the job he did,” Trump said of Vindman. “First of all he reported a false call … what was said on the call was totally appropriate.”

One of Vindman’s lawyers, David Pressman said, “There is no question in the mind of any American why this man’s job is over, why this country now has one less soldier serving it at the White House. Vindman was asked to leave for telling the truth.”

Vindman’s twin brother, who served as a senior NSC lawyer, was also recalled last week, though he did not serve as a witness in the impeachment. The Vindman brothers will be reassigned to the defense department, according to a spokesperson.