The White House's top Ukraine expert, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, is the first witness who was on President Donald Trump's damning phone conversation with Ukrainian President Voldoymyr Zelensky to testify in the ongoing impeachment inquiry against the President.
Because Vindman is one of the few officials to go against the White House's pressure not to comply with subpoenas or even a modicum of oversight, bumbling Fox News personalities are implying that Vindman—a Purple Heart recipient—is a Ukrainian spy because he moved from Ukraine to the United States as a toddler.
You read that right.
Fox News host Laura Ingraham and torture advocate John Yoo discussed Vindman on Ingraham's show.
Oh my God, look at the spin they are using right now, actually saying that Vindman is a Ukrainian double agent....t… https://t.co/jxsfdvjrPS— Andrew Lawrence (@Andrew Lawrence) 1572315264.0
“Here we have a U.S. national security official who is advising Ukraine, while working inside the White House, apparently against the President’s interest, and usually, they spoke in English," Ingraham said of Vindman. "Isn’t that kind of an interesting angle on this story?”
Yoo responded:
"I find that astounding, and some people might call that espionage, but it doesn't actually seem to add any new facts to what we know."
It's not just media personalities either, but lawmakers like former Congressman Sean Duffy (R-WI), who suggested Vindman had a double loyalty to Ukraine:
"It seems very clear that he is incredibly concerned about Ukrainian defense. I don't know that he's concerned about American policy ... we all have an affinity to our homeland where we came from ... he has an affinity for the Ukraine."
So the talking point is that Vindman personally wanted money to go to Ukraine because he was born in Ukraine, and n… https://t.co/M0qnchqa9w— Asha Rangappa (@Asha Rangappa) 1572354832.0
The comments are the latest in a continued series of Trump's allies leaping to discredit the character of an American patriot in order to salvage the President's waning credibility.
People noticed and jumped to Vindman's defense.
Alexander Vindman just entered the Capitol in full uniform to testify in the impeachment inquiry. Meantime, conse… https://t.co/XT1FJeeZr0— Abby D. Phillip (@Abby D. Phillip) 1572354995.0
If you thought Trump's media propagandists wouldn't try to smear an Iraq War vet with a Purple Heart, I have bad ne… https://t.co/7ntmEfjmzn— Matthew Gertz (@Matthew Gertz) 1572351495.0
In fact, @realDonaldTrump, Vindman is a 20-year Army active duty officer who volunteered for his position in the WH. https://t.co/bVkKirL7jF— Jim Sciutto (@Jim Sciutto) 1572355286.0
As a proud alum of @BerkeleyLaw I could not be more disgusted that Prof. John Yoo slandered an American hero Lt. Co… https://t.co/5g9aGEgmj4— Jennifer Rubin (@Jennifer Rubin) 1572353457.0
As the character assassination of Vindman begins, here are some other American public servants born overseas: -He… https://t.co/aR7SkNMAr4— Jim Sciutto (@Jim Sciutto) 1572352960.0
One thing is for sure: Vindman appears to have Trump allies terrified.