Before Hearing, WH Distributed Talking Points Bashing Vindman, An Employee

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 19: Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, National Security Council Director for European Affairs, testifies before the House Intelligence Committee in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol ... WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 19: Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, National Security Council Director for European Affairs, testifies before the House Intelligence Committee in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill November 19, 2019 in Washington, DC. The committee heard testimony during the third day of open hearings in the impeachment inquiry against U.S. President Donald Trump, who House Democrats say withheld U.S. military aid for Ukraine in exchange for Ukrainian investigations of his political rivals. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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The White House sent around talking points to discredit Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman before the hearing Tuesday, despite the fact that he is still an employee.

According to the Daily Beast, White House aide Julia Hahn sent two email blasts to Trump surrogates. The first centered on the July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, positing that President Donald Trump didn’t actually do anything wrong, but ruffled Vindman’s feathers by ignoring his prepared talking points.

The second focused on Vindman’s “credibility,” citing complains about his judgement made by his onetime boss and fellow witness in the inquiry, former NSC aide Tim Morrison.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) in particular clung to the second email, doing a whole line of questioning based on the comment from Morrison’s deposition.

It made for one of the most tense scenes of the hearing, as Vindman fixed Jordan with a steely gaze and read aloud from a job evaluation written about him by former NSC senior director Fiona Hill, where she praises his “excellent judgement.”

Morrison stuck by his comments about Vindman having questionable judgment and being a potential leaker during his testimony, even after Vindman’s vehement self-defense.

During the hearing, the White House made no secret of its anti-Vindman stance, with the official government account tweeting out a graphic of Morrison’s statement while Vindman was before the committee.

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Notable Replies

  1. Absolutely disgraceful, yet predictable.

  2. What traitorous scum!!! The fact that a significant number of Americans will vote for these people is a sad commentary on this country. They are white, racist, stupid and proud of themselves even though most of them have never done anything of merit.

  3. Well now we know who gets to be charged for witness intimidation. Julia Hahn.
    Also I’m sure there’s some HR regulations that she violated by attacking a current employee.

  4. The WH talking points were almost verbatim for Repubs, especially Jim Jordan.
    But Jumpin Jim could not help himself, and added a lie all on his own that Morrison and Hill questioned Vindman’s performance and judgement. Fortunately, Vindy was prepared for the Hill part.

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