Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, one of the most prominent witnesses to testify at Trump’s first impeachment trial for extorting the president of Ukraine, filed a lawsuit against former President Donald Trump and disgraced lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday for trying to smear his character.
Vindman’s lawsuit claims that Trump and Giuliani sought to paint him as “disloyal to the United States, as a spy for a foreign country, and as a politically motivated saboteur” because of his testimony to Congress, adding the attacks on him were coordinated by the former president and his allies.
“Attacks on Lt. Col. Vindman did not simply happen by accident or coincidence, nor were they the result of normal politics or modern news cycles. Rather, the coordinated campaign was the result of a common understanding and agreement among and between President Trump and his allies.”
Following his testimony, Vindman faced career retaliation. He was denied a routine military promotion, which he asserts was part of a campaign of “bullying and intimidation”. He was eventually forced out of his job altogether and was “escorted out of the White House.”
New: Former Lt. Col. @AVindman just filed suit in D.C. district court against Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani, Julia Hahn and Dan Scavino alleging they engaged in a witness intimidation conspiracy against him ahead of his testimony in Trump's 1st impeachment trial. pic.twitter.com/QB1EhqbYVx
— Alex Mallin (@alex_mallin) February 2, 2022