Alexander Vindman on Wednesday morning filed a lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, Rudolph Giuliani, and others alleging they retaliated unlawfully against him.
The former lieutenant colonel testified before congressional investigators in October 2019, which led to Trump's first impeachment.
The suit, filed in D.C. District Court, argues that Trump violated the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act, which forbids conspiring to interfere with a federal officer's ability to carry out the duties of office or ability to testify, USA Today reported.
"The targeted campaign against Lt. Col. Vindman violated federal civil rights laws that have long protected federal officials from intimidation and retaliation," the 73-page lawsuit said.
"President Trump and his aides and other close associates, including Defendants, waged a targeted campaign against Lt. Col. Vindman for upholding his oath of office and telling the truth."
Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, and former White House aides Daniel Scavino, director of social media, and Julia Hahn, deputy communications director, were also named as defendants.
The lawsuit said the attacks prevented Vindman from continuing to serve in the military and on the National Security Council staff.
"I did my duty by reporting my concerns within the National Security Council, where I served as a director," Vindman said in a USA Today opinion column. "When later subpoenaed by Congress, I testified truthfully about what I heard. As a result, my career and personal life were forever turned upside down."
Vindman told congressional investigators that he believed Trump personally blocked nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine in exchange for a public announcement of an inquiry into then-former Vice President Joe Biden and his son.
Vindman is asking a federal judge to rule that Trump, Giuliani, Scavino and Hahn all engaged in the conspiracy campaign, and to award him financial damages in an amount that would be determined after trial.
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