Defend key impeachment witness

'He's a patriot': Republicans defend key impeachment witness from attacks

Senior GOP lawmakers rejected the assault from conservative pundits on Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.

By BURGESS EVERETT and MELANIE ZANONA

Republican leaders are stepping up to defend Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman against vicious attacks from President Donald Trump's allies.

Republicans may quibble with the substance of Vindman’s testimony as they try to protect Trump from the fast-moving impeachment inquiry. But congressional GOP leaders say it’s out of bounds to question Vindman’s patriotism and allegiance to the United States, as some conservative pundits did on Monday night.

Several top Republicans on Tuesday made emphatic statements in support of Vindman, a National Security Council official who heard Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian president and testified that it was improper for Trump to demand an investigation into Joe Biden and represented a threat to U.S. national security.

“That guy’s a Purple Heart. I think it would be a mistake to attack his credibility,” South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican, said in an interview. “You can obviously take issue with the substance and there are different interpretations about all that stuff. But I wouldn’t go after him personally. He’s a patriot.”

“I’m not going to question the patriotism of any of the people who come forward," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), though he declined to comment "on the merit of what’s going forward" or Vindman's suggestion that he was concerned Trump's actions had undermined national security.

Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, one of the most hawkish Republicans in the House and a member of the Armed Services Committee, said it would be “shameful” to question Vindman’s loyalty or patriotism to the country.

Cheney wasn’t even pressed by reporters on the topic; in her opening remarks during a weekly leadership news conference in the Capitol, she went out of her way to decry the attacks on Vindman, including the outlandish theory that he was a potential spy working against the United States.

“We need to show that we are better than that as a nation,” said Cheney, the third-ranking House Republican. “We’re talking about decorated veterans who have served this nation, who put their lives on the line. And it is shameful to question their patriotism, their love of this nation, and we should not be involved in this process.”

"This is the career military officer with a Purple Heart? I'm sure he's doing his best to serve his country," said Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, the No. 4 GOP leader. "Somebody can have a wrong sense of where they think the path goes but that doesn't mean that they're wrongly motivated. ... Criticizing this guy? No. I wouldn't be on board."

Former Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) said on CNN that Vindman seems “incredibly concerned about Ukrainian defense. I don’t know that he’s concerned about American policy,” adding that Vindman’s “affinity” may be for Ukraine not the United States.

Trump also attacked Vindman as a "Never Trumper witness" on Tuesday.

But it appeared the criticism from Duffy's former colleagues was having an effect. Duffy tweeted later Tuesday that Vindman is an "American war hero," and that the point he was trying to make is that "Mr. Vindman is an unelected advisor, he gives ADVICE. President Trump sets the policy."

On Monday night, former George W. Bush administration official John Yoo said Vindman may have participated in “espionage” after Fox News’ Laura Ingraham suggested that Vindman was “advising Ukraine while working inside the White House apparently against the president’s interest.” Yoo later released a statement saying his critics were "deliberately" twisting his words and that he wasn't accusing Vindman of being "some kind of double agent."

Asked about joining the attacks, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said "I'm not going to do it and I would encourage others not to."

Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) also said they had no reason to question the character of Vindman, while Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), one of the president's closest allies, said he would not comment on the matter.

But even as GOP lawmakers dismiss or sidestep such rhetoric, Republicans are not ready to endorse Vindman’s testimony, which Democrats say is explosive.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he is grateful for Vindman’s service to the country, but argued that the White House official's version of events is “wrong.” And Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said Vindman is “talking about the call we already know about. So we can make our own judgment.”

Still, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said the closed-door nature of the impeachment inquiry makes it appropriate to assess the character and credibility of witnesses, though Cruz didn't go after Vindman specifically.

"It is always appropriate to question the credibility of a witness, that's part of why one has due process," Cruz said.

House Democrats are investigating whether Trump withheld foreign aid to Ukraine unless the country opened a probe into the Biden family.

Vindman, who showed up to Capitol Hill on Tuesday in his Army uniform, told House impeachment investigators that he thought Trump undermined national security with his Ukraine pressure campaign and twice reported those concerns to others. He also plans to back up his account by referencing his military service, which includes being wounded in an IED attack in Iraq and receiving a Purple Heart.

A key part of the GOP’s impeachment defense strategy has centered on undermining the credibility of the whistleblower who first brought the Ukraine episode to light, as well as other witnesses that have been interviewed in the probe. Vindman is the first witness to have been on the call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and so he can't be discounted as easily.

Few Republicans on Capitol Hill are taking such a tack with Vindman — despite the fact that Trump is trashing him.

“Supposedly, according to the Corrupt Media, the Ukraine call ‘concerned’ today’s Never Trumper witness. Was he on the same call that I was? Can’t be possible! Please ask him to read the Transcript of the call. Witch Hunt!” Trump tweeted Tuesday morning.

“How many more Never Trumpers will be allowed to testify about a perfectly appropriate phone call when all anyone has to do is READ THE TRANSCRIPT!” the president added. “I knew people were listening in on the call (why would I say something inappropriate?), which was fine with me, but why so many?”