On November 19, The Daily Beast reported that the White House distributed talking points to allies of the president smearing Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a key witness in the impeachment inquiry and a member of the National Security Council. Fox News personalities regurgitated these talking points throughout Vindman’s testimony and into the next day.

The Daily Beast obtained the talking points emailed by the White House to Donald Trump surrogates under the subject line “Vindman’s Complaints Are Nothing More Than Policy Disagreements.” One email read: “Vindman was just upset that President Trump was leading foreign policy instead of sticking to Vindman’s talking points.” The email emphasized, “But it’s not Vindman’s job to set foreign policy, it’s the President’s.” Another email stressed Vindman’s “major credibility issues,” adding that he “has faced accusations of poor judgement, leaking, and going around normal procedures.”

These talking points were featured across Fox News on Tuesday, underscoring how critical the network has become in running defense for Trump as the impeachment inquiry unfolds and the facts look increasingly worse for the president.