That’s Lt. Col. Vindman to you, Rep. Nunes.
While asking Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman Tuesday whether he knew the whistleblower, which the Purple Heart recipient has previously testified he does not, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) referred to the witness as “Mr. Vindman.”
“Ranking member, it’s Lt. Col. Vindman, please,” Vindman corrected the lawmaker, who’s spent the majority of the public proceedings on Tuesday raising conspiracy theories about the Burisma gas company and the Biden family as well as denigrating the media.
“Lt. Col. Vindman, you testified in the deposition that you did not know who the whistleblower was or is?” Nunes clarified.
“I do not know who the whistleblower is, that is correct,” Vindman said.
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman corrects Nunes when he calls the witness "Mr. Vindman." pic.twitter.com/0h48IooTwx
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) November 19, 2019
Just after thanking Vindman for his service, Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) attempted to belittle Vindman’s request to Nunes by asking: “Do you always insist on civilians calling you by your rank?”
“Rep. Stewart, I’m in uniform, wearing my military rank, I just thought it was appropriate to stick with that,” Vindman said, with Stewart adding that he’s sure Nunes meant “no disrespect.”
“I don’t believe he did, but the attacks in the press, in Twitter have kind of eliminated the fact that– either marginalized me as a military officer or–” Vindman said as Stewart cut him off to say that Nunes didn’t mean to disrespect him.
“I believe that,” Vindman said.
Stewart tries to grill Vindman on Nunes correction pic.twitter.com/OT5gLc5lx3
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) November 19, 2019
That put a smile on my face.
It was rich. Lt. Col. Vindman was very much on his toes. Loved it.
It was a good moment, and the Nunes set-down was well-deserved. Though Nunes’s proper place is back on the farm slogging through cow shit.
THAT will land.
And stay…
A muckraker becomes what a muckraker was.