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2019-11-12 Home Front: Politix

Democrats have a Colonel Vindman problem

[Washington Examiner] House Democrats conducted their impeachment interviews in secret, but Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman still emerged as star of the show. Appearing at his Oct. 29 deposition in full dress uniform, the decorated Army officer, now a White House National Security Council Ukraine expert, was the first witness who had actually listened to the phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that is at the heart of the Democratic impeachment campaign. Even though lawmakers were forbidden to discuss his testimony in public, Vindman's leaked opening statement that "I did not think it was proper [for Trump] to demand that a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen" exploded on news reports.

Vindman has not yet been scheduled to appear before the Democrats' public impeachment hearings. When that happens, he will undoubtedly again play a prominent role. But there will be a difference. The public now has a transcript of Vindman's deposition. And those who have taken the trouble to read the 340-page document will have a different picture of Vindman's testimony than the one presented in early media reports.

Yes, Vindman testified repeatedly that he "thought it was wrong" for Trump, speaking with Zelensky, to bring up the 2016 election and allegations of Ukraine-related corruption on the part of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. But the Vindman transcript also showed a witness whose testimony was filled with opinion, with impressions, who had little new to offer, who withheld important information from the committee, who was steeped in a bureaucracy that has often been hostile to the president, and whose lawyer, presumably with Vindman's approval, expressed unmistakable disdain, verging on contempt, for members of Congress who asked inconvenient questions. In short, Vindman's testimony was not the slam-dunk hit Democrats portrayed it to be. And that raises questions about how it will play when Vindman goes before the world in a public impeachment hearing.

Here are four problems with the Vindman testimony:

Posted by Besoeker 2019-11-12 00:38|| || Front Page|| [11134 views ] Top

#1 Splain to me why/how he was listening to the call?

Posted by Varmint Splat1454 2019-11-12 01:21|| 2019-11-12 01:21|| Front Page Top

#2 those who have taken the trouble to read the 340-page document will ~~have a different picture~~ not be heard.

Posted by Glenmore 2019-11-12 01:24|| 2019-11-12 01:24|| Front Page Top

#3 Complete and Utter Shitshow.

Democracy Dies in Shit[show]

Posted by Lex 2019-11-12 07:16|| 2019-11-12 07:16|| Front Page Top

#4 One of the most ludicrous assertions to come out of The Shitshow is the day-is-night, up-is-down, barking mad notion that Trump is doing Putin's bidding in Poland and Ukraine. In reality it was Zero who promised Putin & Medvedev, in person, in March 2012 that he would not sell Patriot missiles to Poland as promised.

Here's our self-labeled "most knowledgeable" Ukraine "expert's" less-than-expert testimony about the history of Javelin anti-tank missile sales to Ukraine - from the article:

Vindman had other blind spots, as well. One important example concerned U.S. provision of so-called lethal aid to Ukraine, specifically anti-tank missiles known as Javelins. The Obama administration famously refused to provide Javelins or other lethal aid to Ukraine, while the Trump administration reversed that policy, sending a shipment of missiles in 2018. On the Trump-Zelensky call, the two leaders discussed another shipment in the future.

"Both those parts of the call, the request for investigation of Crowd Strike and those issues, and the request for investigation of the Bidens, both of those discussions followed the Ukraine president saying they were ready to buy more Javelins. Is that right?" asked Schiff.

"Yes," said Vindman.

"There was a prior shipment of Javelins to Ukraine, wasn't there?" said Schiff.

"So that was, I believe — I apologize if the timing is incorrect — under the previous administration, there was a — I'm aware of the transfer of a fairly significant number of Javelins, yes," Vindman said.

Vindman's timing was incorrect. Part of the entire Trump-Ukraine story is the fact that Trump sent the missiles while Obama did not. The top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council did not seem to know that.

Posted by Lex 2019-11-12 07:26|| 2019-11-12 07:26|| Front Page Top

#5 ^ The Deep State, famous for its pseudo-experts' shallowness and unbelievable ignorance about anything outside the Beltway or unrelated to insider politics

Posted by Lex 2019-11-12 07:28|| 2019-11-12 07:28|| Front Page Top

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