The National Security Council's top Ukraine expert, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman of the Army, who heard President Donald Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, plans to provide details of the call to impeachment investigators on Tuesday, the New York Times reported. Vindman will be the first White House official who listened in on the conversation to testify before investigators.
According to his written statement, he was in the Situation Room with other colleagues from the NSC and the office of the Vice President when the call took place. He said he had concerns about the call and reported them to the NSC's lead counsel once it concluded.
“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,” Vindman said in his opening 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.”
Although he had concerns and reported them, Vindman said he is not the whistleblower.
“I did convey certain concerns internally to national security officials in accordance with my decades of experience and training, sense of duty, and obligation to operate within the chain of command,” his statement said.
Vindman is set to testify in front of the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight and Reform Committees on Tuesday.
Here's his full prepared testimony:
This is a breaking news story. As more information comes in, this post will be updated.
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