ALEXANDER VINDMAN

Former Trump impeachment witness Alexander Vindman is being accused of trying to profit off the Ukraine war with lucrative defense contracts through his private company.

In Moscow, Mar-a-Lago, and beyond, desperate men are mobilizing anyone they can to help them regain power.

A judge has ruled that the oldest son of Donald Trump and other Trump allies did not defame a retired Army lieutenant colonel who was a key witness in the first impeachment case against the former president.

A judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit that accused Donald Trump's oldest son and other Trump allies of an intimidation and defamation campaign targeting a retired Army lieutenant colonel who served as a key witness in the former president's first impeachment case. Alexander Vindman testified during 2019 impeachment proceedings about a phone call in which Trump pressed his Ukraine counterpart to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. Trump was impeached by the House but acquitted by the Senate in February 2020.

Retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman on Monday called Russia a “one-trick pony” and knocked Moscow’s recent strikes against civilian targets in Ukraine. “Russia really is a one-trick pony. It cannot do anything on the battlefield. It’s getting defeated at every turn,” Vindman said in an interview on CNN’s “New Day.” Russian President Vladimir Putin,…

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper documents a concerted White House campaign to punish Lt. Col. Vindman for testifying in Trump's impeachment.

May 9, known as Victory Day for Russians, could signal the end of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — or something more frightful that’s unlikely to end the violence.

The former director of European and Russian affairs for the National Security Council says the United States is not thinking creatively about where conflict could end up.

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has resurrected the Cold-War narrative of Russia as villain, which traversed the McCarthy hearings, spy novels and "Rocky IV."

Vladimir Putin's only leverage against the West is nuclear war. However, he cannot push the red button on his own.

The Republican member of Congress attempted to blame Russia's invasion of Ukraine on President Joe Biden, prompting a fiery Twitter exchange.

Alexander Vindman, a key witness in the first impeachment of President Donald Trump, was with Ron Johnson on a key trip to Ukraine in May, 2019.

From the earliest days of his first presidential campaign, Donald Trump aggressively dismantled pillars of Republican foreign policy.

Vindman said that Donald Trump and his allies has emboldened Russia by praising Vladimir Putin and deepening the US' domestic divisions.

The Russia expert tells "CBS Mornings" that the Russian president is facing opposition from the West unlike anything he's faced before, but adds that "He's not a madman. He's not suicidal."

Vindman accuses Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Guiliani and others of conspiring to intimidate and then punish him for testifying in the former president's 2019 impeachment case.

A retired Army lieutenant colonel who was a pivotal witness in the first impeachment case against Donald Trump has sued the oldest son of the former president and other Trump allies.

”I just wish I could do what I want without getting attacked every week,” tweeted Brittany Matthews, co-owner of Kansas City Current and fiancee of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the U.S. is planning "things we've not done in the past" if Russia invades Ukraine. Where do things stand now and what can the U.S. do at this point?

"What happened to you, man?" asked fellow Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger.

Retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman called on Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to resign in response to a book that said Milley secretly promised his Chinese counterpart he would provide advance warning if former President Donald Trump ordered an attack on China.

Alexander Vindman, a key witness for House Democrats' impeachment investigation against President Trump, called on Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley to resign on Tuesday.

Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the White House national security aide who set off the chain of events that led to the investigation and first impeachment of President Donald Trump, recently told an interviewer that if there had been no whistleblower complaint against Trump in the Ukraine affair, Vindman would not have "let things stand." Instead, Vindman said, he would have devised some other tactic to protect Joe Biden, Trump's Democratic rival for the presidency, from harm by Trump's acti

Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman talked with Chance Seales about everything from working in the Trump White House to the service of whistleblowers.

Why Alexander Vindman had an inkling Trump's infamous Ukraine call would go 'haywire' before it took place

Preview: The Army veteran tells "CBS Sunday Morning": "I was the driving force behind this whole thing … I'm getting some chills talking about it right now."

In the August complaint, Lt. Col Yevgeny Vindman alleges he faced retaliation from Trump and White House officials after raising concerns about the presidents pressure on Ukrainian officials to investigate Democrat Joe Bidens family the heart of the Democrats impeachment inquiry. Both Vindmans worked for the National Security Council in the White House and were reassigned to the Army after the Senate voted to acquit Trump in his impeachment trial. If the White House refuses to cooperate fully including by denying requests for documents or for interviews with White House officials we will have no other choice but to infer that any such actions were retaliatory, the Democrats wrote. Mark Zaid, a lawyer for Yevgeny Vindman, confirmed the existence of the complaint and said it states that that senior White House officials, to include the president, retaliated against him for performing his duty as an attorney and soldier. The White House did not immediately comment on the allegations. The allegations are wide-ranging, including his apprehension about the pressure on Ukraine and the behavior of OBrien, who was then the assistant to the president for national security affairs.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday withdrew the nomination of Elaine McCusker to a senior Pentagon post, after reports that she had questioned the suspension of military aid to Ukraine, a key element in the inquiry leading to Trumps impeachment. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S., March 2, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas JacksonWithdrawal of McCuskers nomination to be under secretary of defense (comptroller), made in November, was announced by the White House in a statement. The decision, following the ouster of several other officials who testified in the impeachment inquiry, was criticized by Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. The termination of her nomination is collateral damage by a President who has vindictively purged career national security professionals caught up in the impeachment inquiry, Reed said in a statement.

President Trump chose a bad time to launch a purge of his national security team. Her principal offense, it appears, was failing to indict Andrew McCabe, a former FBI official whose prosecution the president desired. White House personnel director Johnny McEntee reportedly is running a full-scale purge fueled by denunciations supplied by Trump loyalists. And each of their stories came with a pointed lesson for others in Trumps administration: Either fall in line, or face retribution. Can we be confident that President Trump and his aides are doing everything they can to stop what is now a limited outbreak in the United States from becoming an epidemic, as it has in China, Italy and other countries?

"No serious person believes President Trump has learned any lesson," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor Wednesday. Sitting just a few feet away: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who launched the impeachment inquiry into Trump's Ukraine dealings late last year. "I'm not happy with" the NSC staffer, Trump said, hours before Pressman revealed Vindman's departure from the White House. Asked at the White House on Wednesday if there were more departures to come, Trump said, "Oh, sure. Giuliani's alleged shadow foreign policy efforts in Ukraine became a central feature of House Democrats' impeachment case against Trump.

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, National Security Council Director for European Affairs, arrives to testify before the House Intelligence Committee in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill November 19, 2019 in Washington, DC. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the Pentagon could look at disciplinary action against U.S. Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a key figure who testified in the Ukraine impeachment saga. On Friday, Vindman, a former National Security Council staffer, was escorted out of his third-floor office across from the White House. National security advisor Robert O'Brien said Tuesday that there was "no retaliation" and Trump didn't instruct him to remove Vindman and his twin brother, Yevgeny Vindman, from their White House posts, according to reports. Hours before Vindman was escorted from his office Friday, Trump had said of the Purple Heart recipient: "I'm not happy with him."

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, (C), director for European Affairs at the National Security Council, arrives at the U.S. Capitol on October 29, 2019 in Washington, DC. Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a National Security Council staffer whose testimony about President Donald Trump at House impeachment hearings angered the president, was escorted out of the White House on Friday afternoon, his lawyer said. Hours earlier, Trump had said of the Purple Heart recipient Vindman, "I'm not happy with him." Following Vindman's ejection from the White House, Pressman said, "There is no question in the mind of any American why this man's job is over, why this country now has one less soldier serving it at the White House." "The truth has cost LTC Alexander Vindman his job, his career, and his privacy," Pressman said.

Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland arrives to testify before a House Intelligence Committee hearing as part of the impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., November 20, 2019. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, a key witness in House Democrats' impeachment inquiry, NBC News reported. The move was reported hours after it was revealed that Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, another witness in the impeachment proceedings, was recalled from his post as a National Security Council staffer. Just two days earlier, the GOP-led Senate voted nearly along party lines to acquit Trump on two articles of impeachment that the House passed in December. The apparent purge of Sondland and Vindman and Vindman's brother Yevgeny, who worked as an attorney at the National Security Council came a day after Trump's remarks.

In a statement, Sondland said, "I was advised today that the President intends to recall me effective immediately as United States Ambassador to the European Union. Sondland testified. "With regard to the requested White House call and the White House meeting, the answer is yes," he added. President Trump continued to insist Sondland said there was no quid pro quo, ignoring his later testimony. Vindman's lawyer, David Pressman, said in a statement that his client was escorted out of the White House.

(Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee held its third day of public hearings on Tuesday in an impeachment inquiry examining President Donald Trumps dealings with Ukraine, with four witnesses testifying on two panels. And they will not be successful.REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE FRANCIS ROONEY TO REPORTERS:I dont think theres been a crime proven yet ... Remember, these witnesses are the only people who have passed the audition for Adam Schiff. Remember, no due process, the President does not get an attorney in the room, the president does not get to request any witnesses. This is all about Adam Schiff and whoever passed his screening for the audition down in that basement.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A White House official told impeachment investigators on Tuesday that President Donald Trumps request that Ukraine investigate a political rival was an improper demand as he fended off Republican efforts to cast doubt on his competence and loyalty to the United States. Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, the White House National Security Councils top Ukraine expert and a decorated Iraq war veteran, testified at the third public impeachment hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, wearing his blue dress military uniform and medals. It is improper for the president of the United States to demand a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen and political opponent, Vindman said. The other involved a debunked conspiracy theory embraced by some Trump allies that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 U.S. election. REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstIn closed-door testimony in October, Volker said he had not heard any references to investigations during a July 10 White House meeting between U.S. and Ukrainian officials.

Vindman, a decorated Iraq war veteran serving as the White House National Security Councils top Ukraine expert, testified before lawmakers in an ongoing impeachment inquiry led by House Democrats. Vindman usually wears a suit, not his uniform, while working at the White House, one Republican lawmaker, Representative Chris Stewart, observed. Last month Trump described Vindman as a Never Trumper, using a term for Republicans who oppose Trump. Republican lawmakers at the televised hearing appeared keen not to cross a line that would upset constituents with a background in military service. At one point Vindman instructed the senior committee Republican, Representative Devin Nunes, not to call him Mr. Vindman.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A White House official testified in the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump on Tuesday that the presidents request that Ukraine investigate a domestic political rival was an improper demand, as he fended off Republican efforts to cast doubt on his competence and loyalty to the United States. Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, the White House National Security Councils top Ukraine expert and a decorated Iraq war veteran, testified at the third public impeachment hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, wearing his blue dress military uniform and medals. During the call, Trump asked Zelenskiy to carry out two investigations that would benefit him politically, including one targeting Democratic political rival Joe Biden. The other involved a debunked conspiracy theory embraced by some Trump allies that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 U.S. election. A U.S. official said Vindman had recently raised concerns over his personal security and the Army had been carrying out security assessments.

WASHINGTON - One top national security aide who listened to President Donald Trump's July call with Ukraine's president called it "improper." The two testified Tuesday at House impeachment hearings as the inquiry reached deeper into the White House. He did so, he said, "because they had significant national security implications for our country." In the audience was his twin brother, also an official at the National Security Council and among those he told about his concerns over Trump's phone call. Williams testified the call was unlike about a dozen others she had heard from presidents over her career.

Colonel Vindman, we have seen far more scurrilous attacks on your character and watched as certain personalities on Fox (News) have questioned your loyalty. But youre here to answer questions and youre here under subpoena, Nunes told Vindman when he declined to identify an intelligence officer with whom he spoke about Trumps July 25 phone call with the Ukraine president. The call, now the focus of the impeachment inquiry, was first reported by an anonymous whistleblower whom Republicans want to identify. Schiff stopped the exchange, saying the hearing would not be used to out the whistleblower. LIEUTENANT COLONEL ALEXANDER VINDMAN:It is improper for the president of the United States to demand a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen and a political opponent ...

Trump last month described Vindman, a decorated Iraq War veteran, as a Never Trumper, using a term for Republicans who oppose Trump. The U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Army has been carrying out security assessments since Vindman expressed concerns about his familys safety. Vindman and his family could be moved to a base if the security threat against him mounts, the official added. The official said the Army would take similar precautions if any service member reached out with such concerns. The possibility of upgraded protection for Vindman was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

The third round of public impeachment hearings continues with former U.S. special envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker and National Security Council official Tim Morrison testifying this afternoon. The House impeachment investigation focuses on whether President Donald Trump abused his power by pressuring Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to open investigations into his political rivals. Volker said he was motivated to participate in the shadow foreign policy by a desire to improve U.S.-Ukrainian relations. Morrison during his closed-door deposition last week said that he advised lawyers on the national security council that the phone call between Trump and Zelenskiy could be "damaging" if it got out. In his testimony, Vindman said Trump ignored prepared talking points on corruption from his national security staff.

President Donald Trump ignored talking points from his national security staff to address "corruption" in his phone calls with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a top White House expert on Ukraine testified Tuesday in the House impeachment hearings. But Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a National Security Council official, testified that the official policy-based talking points provided to Trump covered the broader issue of corruption in Ukraine, not political investigations. "Those were the recommended talking points that were cleared through the staff for the president, yes," Vindman testified. "The president could choose to use the talking points or not. Vindman testified alongside Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence, who had referred to Trump's second call with Zelenskiy as "unusual and inappropriate."

They said it was "improper" and "inappropriate" that President Trump would ask a foreign leader to investigate a political opponent. During a cabinet meeting, that opened with a prayer for his health, the president boasted Republicans are winning the impeachment battle. Still, Mr. Trump continued to seethe about the process and about the witnesses. "What I do know is that even he said that the transcript was correct," Mr. Trump said. The president's doctor released a statement denying Mr. Trump had chest pains and said he wasn't treated for any urgent or acute issues.

The official Twitter account of the White House was used on Tuesday to distribute a personal attack on the credibility of decorated Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, while he was testifying before the House Intelligence Committee. "Tim Morrison, Alexander Vindman's former boss, testified in his deposition that he had concerns about Vindman's judgment," the White House pushed to its 19.3 million followers shortly before 1:00 p.m. Vindman, however, still worked in the White House as of Tuesday. The official White House account is overseen by the staff of the president, and passed on to each successive administration. A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a question from CNBC about why it decided to use the official government account, and not Trump's personal account, for the commentary on Vindman.

Many Americans who miss hours of witness testimony in the public hearings of the impeachment inquiry of President Trump will rely on cable television to tell them what happened. Tune in to MSNBCs nighttime sessions and you can expect to see the case against President Trump as an out-of-control menace who threatens American freedoms. When Zelensky inquired about purchasing more U.S. weapons, Trump replied, I would like you to do us a favor, though. FOX: Conservative talk show stalwart Mark Levin assured Hannity that the president of Ukraine had not been pressured. And the Associated Press Jill Colvin told Velshi: What this White House loves to do is attack the messenger.

REUTERS/Tom BrennerVindman, now detailed to the White House National Security Council, has been targeted by Trump following his Oct. 29 congressional testimony. The source said Vindman returned to his White House assignment after his testimony and there had been no change in his responsibilities. However, he said he supported plans by Trumps national security adviser, Robert OBrien, to reduce the size of the National Security Council. Hes trying to shrink the National Security Council back down to the size of what it was many, many years ago, Esper said. I think the National Security Council staff needs to shrink and focus on coordinating between the departments, Esper said.

There has not been a request yet made for Taylor to testify publicly, according to the source. But Democrats privately say that Taylor would be a logical choice for one of the first witnesses when the House begins public impeachment hearings. Sondland's lawyer did not reply to a request for comment when asked if he would be willing to return to testify publicly. "I don't speak Latin"Taylor's opening statement provided a preview of what kind of witness he would be for Democrats publicly. "According to Mr. Morrison, President Trump told Ambassador Sondland that he was not asking for a 'quid pro quo.'

Here are the stories you shouldnt miss today:TOP STORIESFire Knows No BoundariesAs Californians have learned time and again, wildfires dont discriminate. Down south, firefighters in Los Angeles have struggled to control a fire near the Getty Center that destroyed eight homes and damaged five in Brentwood. Shown is the photo tweeted by President Trump of the military dog that was injured while tracking down Islamic State leader Abu Bakr Baghdadi in Syria. Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles City Hall, facing a potential triple-digit deficit largely tied to recent labor agreements with the citys police, fire and other unions, could soon implement a sweeping savings plan.

National Security Council Director for European Affairs Alexander Vindman arrives for a closed-door deposition at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on October 29, 2019. Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump unleashed a barrage of angry tweets Tuesday morning as House Democrats prepared to vote about their impeachment inquiry and a key National Security Council official headed to Capitol Hill to testify. In that call, Trump asked Zelensky to have Ukraine "look into" unsubstantiated corruption allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Vindman is the National Security Council director for European affairs. He joined the National Security Council in July 2018.

It's official: The House passed a resolution on Thursday to formalize the impeachment inquiry and define the rules for its next phase: the public hearings. When it was introduced, Republicans echoed the White House's response and accused Democrats of trying to "retroactively legitimize their illegitimate impeachment inquiry." Another no-show: Charles Kupperman became the latest Trump official to ignore a subpoena to testify in the impeachment inquiry. House passage of the impeachment inquiry resolution marks a constitutional and political Rubicon crossed by Democrats. And the Trump White House is certain the same Republicans who opposed the inquiry will oppose impeachment.