Vindman, an Army JAG lawyer who served as an ethics adviser on the National Security Council during the Trump administration, said in a statement that he is “deeply grateful for the confidence that the U.S. Army and Judge Advocate General Corps placed in me with selection for promotion to Colonel. “
“They maintained their position despite intense pressure during the last government,” said Vindman.
Vindman claimed in a complaint to the Department of Defense Inspector General that the performance evaluations and other actions of Trump White House officials were retaliation for concerns he raised internally over the 2019 phone call from former President Donald Trump to the President of the White House. Ukraine and the testimony of his twin brother in the investigation impeachment.
Vindman also investigated allegations involving then national security adviser Robert O’Brien and his chief of staff Alex Gray, according to a complaint he filed last year. The allegations, Vindman wrote, included “sexism, violations of standards of ethical conduct for employees and violations” of a law involving Congressional funds, according to the Democrats’ letter.
Trump-appointed Vindman’s superiors wrote praiseworthy criticisms the previous year, according to quotes from the critics in his complaint.
The Pentagon’s Inspector General has not yet completed his investigation into the allegations, but Vindman said he hopes the investigation “will bring accountability to those who retaliated against me for making legal disclosures of misconduct”.
Vindman noted that one of these superiors “remains in a senior government position”, referring to Michael Ellis, who was appointed general counsel for the National Security Agency in the last days of the Trump administration.
A Trump adviser said the resignations of the main witnesses to the impeachment were intended to send a message that it would not be tolerated to take a stand against the then president. “Wash the pipes,” the aide told CNN at the time. “It was necessary.”
Alex Vindman was removed from his position as chief Ukraine expert at the National Security Council months earlier than expected, according to a statement by his lawyer at the time. He was not scheduled to leave before July 2020, but he told colleagues in the weeks before his departure that he was likely to leave soon.
A decorated Ukraine veteran, Alex Vindman was escorted out of the White House by a security guard and said his services were no longer needed, according to his lawyer, David Pressman, at the time.
Yevgeny Vindman, who never witnessed or spoke publicly about the Ukrainian saga, was also fired “suddenly and without explanation, despite more than two decades of loyal service to this country,” said Pressman, and left the gardens of the White House alongside Alex Vindman.
Both brothers were “transferred” shortly after the impeachment trial ended, with O’Brien calling his escort outside the White House “standard procedure”.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Caroline Kelly, Kaitlan Collins, Kristen Holmes, Katelyn Polantz, Gloria Borger, Kevin Liptak, Jim Acosta, Devan Cole, Nikki Carvajal and Paul LeBlanc contributed to this report.