Trump Illegally Retaliated Against Yevgeny Vindman, DoD Watchdog Says
VIND-ICATED
The Trump administration unlawfully retaliated against whistleblower Yevgeny Vindman for helping to expose the former president’s ham-handed attempt to withhold vital military aid to Ukraine unless it dug up dirt on Joe Biden, who would go on to unseat Trump in the 2020 election. That’s according to a newly released report from the Pentagon’s inspector general, who says then-Lt. Col. Vindman “was the subject of unfavorable personnel actions from administration officials” after he reported the wrongdoing. “We make no recommendation with respect to the Complainant, who has been promoted to the rank of Colonel and whose performance record has been corrected,” the IG report states, but does not recommend any punishment for the administration officials at fault, as they have “departed their positions in the White House.” Vindman’s twin brother, Alexander, left the Army in 2020 after Trump launched a “campaign of bullying, intimidation, and retaliation” for his impeachment testimony over the same issue.