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Government
Lt. Col. Alex Vindman's opening statement to impeachment inquiry about Trump-Ukraine call
2019-10-29
[The Mail] Before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform

Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member, thank you for the opportunity to address the Committees concerning the activities relating to Ukraine and my role in the events under investigation.

Background

I have dedicated my entire professional life to the United States of America. For more than two decades, it has been my honor to serve as an officer in the United States Army. As an infantry officer, I served multiple overseas tours, including South Korea and Germany, and a deployment to Iraq for combat operations. In Iraq, I was wounded in an IED attack and awarded a Purple.

Since 2008, I have been a Foreign Area Officer specializing in Eurasia. In this role, I have served in the United States' embassies in Kiev, Ukraine and Moscow, Russia. In Washington, D.C., I was a politico-military affairs officer for Russia for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs where I authored the principle strategy for managing competition with Russia. In July 2018, I was asked to serve at the National Security Council.

The privilege of serving my country is not only rooted in my military service, but also in my personal history. I sit here, as a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army, an immigrant. My family fled the Soviet Union when I was three and a half years old. Upon arriving in New York City in 1979, my father worked multiple jobs to support us, all the while learning English at night. He stressed to us the importance of fully integrating into our adopted country. For many years, life was quite difficult. In spite of our challenging beginnings, my family worked to build its own American dream. I have a deep appreciation for American values and ideals and the power of freedom. I am a patriot, and it is my sacred duty and honor to advance and defend OUR country, irrespective of party or politics.

For over twenty years as an active duty United States military officer and diplomat, I have served this country in a nonpartisan manner, and have done so with the utmost respect and professionalism for both Republican and Democratic administrations.
Read the entire text with 'Gosudarstvenny Gimn Rossiyskoy Federatsii' playing softly in the background. Very stimulating I assure you.
Posted by:Besoeker

#25  Appearing on Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle," the former Bush administration lawyer John Yoo said The Times' reporting suggested Vindman was guilty of espionage.

I agree with that. The guy is a leaker who leaked classified information.
Posted by: JohnQC   2019-10-29 23:43  

#24  On the very edge -

The exact words of the Uniform Code of Military Justice Article 88 - Contempt Toward Public Officials states: "Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Transportation, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct."

Shall we be 'liberal' with that interpretation?
Posted by: Procopius2k   2019-10-29 19:47  

#23  why in the fuck would anyone bring up Pelosi's panties
Posted by: chris   2019-10-29 18:46  

#22  Do you think Pelosi would wet her panties?/em>

If she did, it wouldn't be by choice.
Posted by: bbrewer126    2019-10-29 18:11  

#21  Wait a minute. Aren't these "secret hearings" in a basement SCIF room. Now Schiff is leaking entire "secret" transcripts w/o consequences?
Posted by: Pancho Flerens6518   2019-10-29 16:49  

#20  Ref #14: Another article..(sorry can't find link) indicated that the LtCol also said his concern was that the calls ignored "interagency" positions. In other words, the Klingons got their knickers in a bunch. Posted by Mercutio

EXACTLY! And as their (Klingon's) dedicated point man, it was his responsibility to throw the flag and he knew precisely where to throw it. Pan, Lex, Merc and everyone else nailed it.
Posted by: Besoeker   2019-10-29 15:51  

#19  Beyond that it seems clear he is more concerned about Ukrainian security than he is about American security.

Actually, I meant exactly the opposite - IMO, he's part of the clique determined to have conflict with Russia - contrary to the wishes of his CinC*. And perfectly willing to use Ukraine as an expendable pawn. Or, at least an excuse to justify his unprofessional behavior "It's not that I oppose the Orange Man on any subject, I'm concerned for Ukraine".

*I wonder to what degree they're encouraged by the Chinese.

p.s. As to Ukraine, I fully share Lex's sentiments - cubed (my mother's family comes from Ukraine, the survivors).
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2019-10-29 15:42  

#18  Ya, I'm pissed. He embarrassed the US Army Officer Corp. The money going to the Ukraine was more important to him that a Coup d'état in the United States.
Posted by: 49 Pan   2019-10-29 15:25  

#17  “I did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen, and I was worried about the implications for the U.S. government’s support of Ukraine,” Colonel Vindman said in his statement. “I realized that if Ukraine pursued an investigation into the Bidens and Burisma it would likely be interpreted as a partisan play which would undoubtedly result in Ukraine losing the bipartisan support it has thus far maintained.”

First, he is not there to judge the conversation between two sitting presidents. He was not voted into office and while he is an FAO, he should remember he is NOT a decision maker, policy maker or any other thing other than a phone monitor there to scribe the conversation. With this statement he placed his loyalty to the Ukraine and them getting the money over the president of the United States and the President's strategic objectives. If he felt that strongly he should have filed an IG complaint instead of talking about it to some over politicized woman in the CIA and getting her to file one.
Posted by: 49 Pan   2019-10-29 15:21  

#16  And once more I ask: How, exactly, does any of this prove that Trump broke any law?

I heard Pelosi assert that Trump exceeded his authority and endangered national security but I don't see how.

Are we so concerned about Ukraine that we're willing to go to war with Russia? I don't believe so. We have no treaty with them and it would be foolish if we did.

Imagine if we finally decided that we'd had enough of the communists in Cuba and decided to do a little regime change down there like we've done in Iraq and Libya, like we've attempted to do in Egypt and Syria. Then imagine that Russia gets involved just like some in this country would like to get involved in Ukraine. Do you think Pelosi would wet her panties?
Posted by: Abu Uluque   2019-10-29 14:59  

#15  OK, grom, you talked me into it. I read the whole thing. This is the guy who fed his load of crap to the whistleblower either directly or indirectly. This guy is the leak.

Beyond that it seems clear he is more concerned about Ukrainian security than he is about American security. So, if he is not the whistleblower, he is not protected and Trump can fire him. Then Barr can prosecute him for leaking classified information.
Posted by: Abu Uluque   2019-10-29 14:45  

#14  Another article..(sorry can't find link) indicated that the LtCol also said his concern was that the calls ignored "interagency" positions. In other words, the Klingons got their knickers in a bunch.
Posted by: Mercutio   2019-10-29 14:22  

#13  ^Crimea - the only way for Russia to get, in force, to Syria.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2019-10-29 13:52  

#12  Ukraine never should have been viewed as other than a neutral zone, a la Finland or Austria during the Cold War, that would never ever be allowed to even consider joining NATO.

European Union--fine. Their choice. But not our concern.

We should never-- Hillary, Kerry, Obumble, Nuland, the whole Shitshow-- never should have encouraged anyone in Ukraine to think that they could become a US ally.

Needlessly provocative and gaining us nothing strategically that we didn't already have via our alliance partners Poland, Turkey and Romania.

The only possible explanation for this extreme infatuation with Ukraine is Hillary's skullduggery and campaign dirty tricks designed to slime Trump.

What a compete disgrace. Shitshow etc
Posted by: Lex   2019-10-29 13:49  

#11  
Posted by: Dron66046   2019-10-29 13:16  

#10  The interesting part, IMO, Abu
if Ukraine pursued an investigation into the Bidens and Burisma ... would undoubtedly result in Ukraine losing the bipartisan support i.e., "oppose the sitting POTUS or face the consequences when the government changes".
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2019-10-29 13:10  

#9  grom, I read that part somewhere else. I just don't see how U.S. national security is the slightest bit dependent on Ukraine other than the corrupting influence it has on Democrat politicians. It wouldn't bother me if the Russians marched in there and sat on it for another couple of centuries any more than it has in the past. That's another reason why I think the guy's an idiot and I won't waste any more time on him.
Posted by: Abu Uluque   2019-10-29 13:04  

#8  Either I'm too cynical, or we'll be reading interesting things about Lt. Colonel's Iraq's tour and his purple heart in the coming days.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2019-10-29 13:01  

#7  Abu, you missed some interesting things. For example
I realized that if Ukraine pursued an investigation into the Bidens and Burisma, it would likely be interpreted as a partisan play which would undoubtedly result in Ukraine losing the bipartisan support it has thus far maintained. This would all undermine U.S. national security.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2019-10-29 12:40  

#6  Since 2008, I have been a Foreign Area Officer specializing in Eurasia. I read that as "an Obama plant."

Otherwise what #4 Abu said.
Posted by: JohnQC   2019-10-29 12:23  

#5  This is a clownishly blatant attempt at a redirect.
Everything they accuse Trump of doing vis-a-vis Russia, Hillary and her people did with Ukraine. So f---ing obvious, it's pathetic.
Posted by: Lex    2019-10-29 12:15  

#4  Sorry, I won't follow the link after reading what's posted here. If he wasted that much time and breath trying to convince us how great he is, I refuse to waste any more time on him.
Posted by: Abu Uluque   2019-10-29 12:07  

#3  Up us down, night is day.

Ukraine-- Russia's Russia, a shithole's shithole, this Zimbabwe in whiteface-- us somehow supposed to become "strong and independent."

Right. Like the genius logic that destroying the Ba'athist Party post-Saddam would lead to a happy stable peaceful modern democracy.

And this African-style shambolic non-state is supposed to become an American "bulwark" -- in the struggle against ... what, corruption?

He meant to say, "a bulwark" for Hillary's campaign -- against Trump.

Shitshow, Part 158.
Posted by: Lex    2019-10-29 11:57  

#2  In this situation, a strong and independent Ukraine is critical to U.S. national security interests because Ukraine is a frontline state and a bulwark against Russian aggression.

And Zelensky wants to mend fences with Russia - bingo.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2019-10-29 10:55  

#1  I am a patriot, and it is my sacred duty and honor to advance and defend OUR country, irrespective of party or politics.

Except when it comes to sensitive information, discussions, and matters contrary to his own political beliefs and the political goals of entities he has worked closely with for a number of years (aka comrades and handlers).

Then like his old boss Dr. Fiona Hill, he departs the office and tosses in a thermite grenade on his way out the door.

Eurasia embassy hoping-FAO...? Yes, I believe we know where your loyalties lie colonel. Thanks for the CV and extensive virtue signaling. I look forward to your upcoming book.

Posted by: Besoeker   2019-10-29 07:29  

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