The White House has made clear to Pentagon officials that President Donald Trump does not want Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who testified against him in the House impeachment, to receive a promotion, according to The New York Times.
Vindman had appeared late last year for what turned out to be a testy televised impeachment hearing.
His name was on a list of hundreds of officers who are set for a promotion next week. And it was also on an earlier draft of the list.
The Times said staff at the National Security Council had told the Defense Department they had evidence of misconduct by Vindman.
But no such evidence ever materialized, according to the newspaper. As a result, his name was kept on the list and forwarded to Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
The situation has put Esper in a precarious position with Trump. Esper has already angered the president by breaking with him over whether active-duty military troops should be sent to deal with protests in American cities, the Times reported.
Meanwhile, Esper is also dealing with Pentagon officials who are stepping down from their posts.
The Defense Department’s top two technology officials, Michael Griffin and Lisa Porter, submitted their resignations on Tuesday, saying they had received better offers elsewhere.
And two senior officials, Kathryn Wheelbarger, the top foreign policy official in the Pentagon and Elaine McCusker, the acting comptroller, both quit after Trump withdrew their nominations to top posts.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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