It was a story right out of a third world country’s dictatorship. A man working for the U.S. government dared to speak up about illegal activities committed by the leader of the country. Instantly, his life was threatened, his family’s lives were threatened, he was fired from his job and his twin brother was fired from his, all because the country’s leader wanted to punish him for telling the truth.
Now, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman has filed suit against those who led the campaign of intimidation against him during and after his testimony in front of Congress for the first impeachment trial of Donald Trump.
The sole purpose of this lawsuit is to seek accountability so this does not happen again. We have to ensure that the next witness or whistleblower, regardless of party or issue, can feel comfortable doing the right and lawful thing. https://t.co/h3jQpPvab0 https://t.co/d9F1C04EgG
— Alexander S. Vindman (@AVindman) February 3, 2022
Named in the lawsuit are Donald Trump, Jr., the eldest son of the ex-president; Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s TV lawyer; Daniel Scavino, the Trump administration’s Assistant to the President, Director of Social Media, and Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications; and Julie Hahn, the Trump administration’s Special Assistant to the President and Deputy White House Communications Director who once worked for Laura Ingraham and Breitbart News.
Vindman alleges that the four defendants, in addition to others not named, planned a targeted attack that advanced false narratives, calling Vindman a spy for Ukraine who was loyal to the foreign country and not to the United States, falsely accusing him of leaking classified materials, and then fired him and his brother as a form of punishment for his testimony.
The lawsuit alleges that:
‘As the result of being called to testify before Congress, Lt. Col. Vindman immediately became the target of a dangerous campaign of witness intimidation by President Trump and a group of conspirators. The conspirators agreed on common, unlawful objectives—to deter Lt. Col. Vindman from testifying in the future and to retaliate against him after he did so. The conspirators included Defendants Donald Trump, Jr., Rudy Giuliani, Dan Scavino, Julia Hahn, and others not presently named as defendants.’
Vindman may no longer have a place in the military, but he does have a case in a courtroom. Whistleblower protections are intended to protect those who come forward to report those in higher positions for committing crimes, and the treatment of Vindman broke every one of the laws around those protections.
Twitter let Vindman know that they are grateful for his service and that they stand behind him in his pursuit of justice. Read some of their comments below:
