WASHINGTON (AP) — Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said Friday there is no investigation into the Army officer who until last week worked at the White House National Security Council and was a key witness in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.
McCarthy said Lt. Col. Alex Vindman has been moved to a short-term assignment at Army headquarters until he starts a regularly scheduled stint at a military college later this year. McCarthy’s comments at the National Press Club appeared to put an end to any debate about potential punishment of the officer, who came under fire for raising concerns about Trump’s July phone call with Ukraine’s president.
Trump on Tuesday suggested the Pentagon should review Vindman’s conduct and said any potential disciplinary action would be up to the military. He said military officials “can handle him any way they want,” but added that the military would certainly take a look at his conduct.
Vindman was detailed by the Pentagon to the White House and testified before the House impeachment panel that Trump inappropriately pushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
Last week, just two days after the Senate acquitted Trump on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress charges, Vindman was ousted from his NSC job. His twin brother, Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, who worked as an ethics lawyer at the NSC, also was removed from his job and was re-assigned to the Army General Counsel’s Office.