So Vindman’s testimony began with him reassuring his father that in this country you won’t be punished for telling the truth, and continued with Devin Nunes trying to elicit information from him that might expose a protected whistleblower.
— James Poniewozik (@poniewozik) November 19, 2019
Some of the Republicans chewing on his ankles, well, I’m not so sure.
Vindman corrects Nunes after he called him “Mr. Vindman”:
“Ranking member, it’s Lt. Col. Vindman.”
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) November 19, 2019
Vindman: “It is the consensus of the entire intelligence community that Russia interfered in the elections of 2016.” #ImpeachmentHearings
— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) November 19, 2019
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman gets to the heart of it: “I was concerned by the call, what I heard was improper, and I reported my concerns…It is improper for the president of the United States to demand a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen and political opponent.”
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) November 19, 2019
Worth noting that many in the Russia/national security universe initially thought Vindman was the whistleblower. He is not. #ImpeachmentHearings
— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) November 19, 2019
very on-brand for former osu wrestling coach jim jordan to argue that people who see crime happening shouldn’t tell anybody about it https://t.co/gsffuOSVub
— Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) November 19, 2019
Vindman: It is a Russian narrative, promoted by Vladimir Putin, that Ukraine interfered in the US election in 2016.
— Kate Brannen (@K8brannen) November 19, 2019
When @Jim_Jordan questions Vindman’s judgment, Vindman responds by quoting his performance review from Fiona Hill: “He is brilliant, unflappable” and top 1% of military officers she’s worked with.
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) November 19, 2019
“sure we were assholes, but hey, a better man than us was up to the challenge” https://t.co/Lq0JeHc3QA
— Greg Dworkin (@DemFromCT) November 19, 2019
Still upset about attempts today to smear Vindman because of his heritage and ethnicity. And just to be clear, Vindmans family fled the Soviet Union, not Ukraine. And for those that feel the need to use hyphenated adjectives, he is Jewish-American not Ukrainian-American.
— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) November 19, 2019
Oliver North justified his skimming of an illegal black market slush fund as necessary to protect his home against ‘threats’ from terrorist Abu Nidal. A terrorist he’d neglect to mention that he’d helped arm and finance.
LTC Vindman OTOH has been threatened by his own C-in-C. https://t.co/oiA2uoBn83
— Gator MaClunkey (@Zeddary) November 19, 2019
The beauty of this country, the one that Vindman repeatedly stated was worth moving here for, is that you DON’T have to ask who he or anyone voted for. https://t.co/NfZS7QHFUy
— Bianna Golodryga (@biannagolodryga) November 19, 2019
Wherein the WH uses taxpayer dollars to go after LTC Vindman, who remains on the National Security Council.
Morrison, a political appointee, resigned last month. https://t.co/PYfWWeK26e
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 19, 2019
Vindman: I can’t say why Mr. Morrison questioned my judgment. He wasn’t there very long. Maybe it was different cultures. We were just getting to know each other. I never leaked information.
— Bianna Golodryga (@biannagolodryga) November 19, 2019
Sit down, caddy. https://t.co/0AllLG0VS5
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) November 19, 2019
Implying that a Jew has split national loyalties is anti-Semitic. Doing so to a person who has fled that exact stereotype and discrimination in the Soviet Union is just cruel. https://t.co/OkzMSihjwy pic.twitter.com/EQWIofcxIc
— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) November 19, 2019
A reminder that just a few weeks ago, House Republicans decried accusations of dual loyalty against Vindman after they became a Fox talking point. How things change! https://t.co/B9K9zOuJbJ
— Miriam Elder (@MiriamElder) November 19, 2019
AxelFoley
A Real American Hero.
lgerard
Vindman is a bad guy because the Ukrainians thought that he was so awesome that they offered to make him Defense Minister is not the greatest talking point
HumboldtBlue
Joan Baez and that voice. Here she does her version of Dylan.
Mary G
His answer to all this “people questioned your judgment” by reading his performance review from mid-July was so calm and collected. He’s another person from these hearings that has so impressed me that I feel somewhat reassured that some real professionals have managed to stay in government despite the clown-in-chief.
StringOnAStick
And as I surfed various Twitter threads, the bots, sock puppets and deranged R voters are aggressively trashing Vinman. Vlad’s shop is running increased shifts no doubt; it’s the R true believer trolls that push me to rage and despair.
bluehill
This is going better than Putin could have ever imagined.
Jay
@bluehill:
MisterForkbeard
@bluehill: @Jay: IIRC, Navy command is stripping Gallagher’s trident and basically telling him he’s a piece of shit.
They’re also going to punish him for some of the things he said, such as publicly disparaging his chain of command and other marines for testifying against him and the things he did.
Gallagher’s suit isn’t really going to go anywhere. He’ll have to prove a lot of things, including that his target publicly disparaged POTUS instead of just mentioning it to someone.
Aleta
Compare and contrast Vindman’s loyalty to the US and its citizens with each of the following:
a) Trump
b) Giuliani
c) Manafort
d) McConnell
e) the NRA
f) the GOP
mrmoshpotato
@Aleta: I’d rather slap everyone on that list with a cow’s leg bones.
(Yes, I know Devin might like it.)
bluehill
@Aleta:
L’etat, c’est moi – unfortunately.
bluehill
@Aleta:
L’etat, c’est moi – unfortunately.
cain
I want to get off of of this wild ride
joel hanes
@cain:
this wild ride
scav
Gallagher’s basically Joe the Plumber, aka a random individual picked up as a fortuitously useful campaign prop. Foxholes and military courts are going to be fun with all the malcontents vying for the attention of the Commander in Casting Couch.
Patricia Kayden
@Mary G: Vindman started out very nervous in his opening statement but got comfortable and did a great job despite the smear attempts from Republicans. A true American hero.
Amir Khalid
@scav:
Ah, Joe the Plumber. Whose first name wasn’t Joe, and who was not actually a plumber. (He wasn’t licenced himself; he merely worked for a plumber.)
rikyrah
True American Hero???
He broke out the receipts with Jordan??
NotMax
@Mary G
Frankly, also impressed by whomever it was who told Vindman to bring that document with him. It’s not the sort of item one normally carries on his person.
Not trying to take away anything from Vindman nor diminish him in any way but am I the only one who looked at him and saw an uncanny resemblance to Allan Sherman?
WereBear
@Amir Khalid: And was last seen desperately trying for a union job in Detroit.
Butter Emails
@MisterForkbeard:
Gallagher is just auditioning for a spot as a military expert on Fox News.
Peking Man
@NotMax: I am sure Notmax knows that the correct phrase is in this case is “by whoever it was” and he is just trying to impress the ladies: https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/02/whom-men-who-use-this-pronoun-in-online-dating-ads-get-more-contacts-from-opposite-sex-respondents.html
NotMax
@Peking Man
Busted!
;)
trnc
The only additional thing that I would love to have seen is if, when Vindman was asked about being a Never Trumper, he had responded by saying that he was not a never anybody, but he’s also not for someone regardless of wrongdoing, and could everyone on the panel say the same thing? He could also have pointed out to anyone worried about the politics, he’s being maligned politically AND threatened, so politics is no excuse for not doing the right thing. I believe this would have been perfectly appropriate.
Could still happen. I’m sure there will be other witnesses who will be asked about their loyalty to the prez.
Central Planning
@Peking Man: “Use this one weird grammar trick…”