Why Alexander Vindman had an inkling Trump's infamous Ukraine call would go 'haywire' before it took place
![Alexander Vindman.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/cuHxCAer27r6AndNepw2gf-415-80.jpg)
Retired Lt. Col. Vindman had a bad feeling about former President Donald Trump's infamous 2019 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before it even took place, he reveals in his new book Here, Right Matters: An American Story, an excerpt of which was published by The Atlantic.
Vindman writes that while he was making his way to the White House alongside Tim Morrison, who was then serving as the National Security Council's senior director for Europe and Russia (Vindman, at the time, was the NSC's director for European Affairs), he suggested it would be a good idea to get White House lawyers involved on the call.
Two things had spooked Vindman in the days leading up to the exchange — first, then-U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland had proposed multiple times that if Zelensky pursued Ukraine-related investigations of then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, he would be rewarded with a White House visit. Vindman writes that he told Sondland he believed the idea was improper, wanting to believe the ambassador was just a "loose cannon." Vindman's apprehension increased when the call was postponed three days without an explanation.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"This could all go hawywire," Vindman says he told Morrison. But Morrision didn't share his concern, dismissing the lawyer suggestion "out of hand," Vindman writes.
You probably know what happened next — Trump hinted the U.S. could withhold military military aid from Ukraine if Zelensky didn't push the baseless Biden investigations. "If what I just heard becomes public," Vindman says he told his brother, Yevgeny, "the president will be impeached." He was right about that too. Read the excerpt at The Atlantic.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Russian strike kills at least 51 in Ukraine
Speed Read Two Russian missiles struck a military academy and hospital in the Ukrainian city of Poltava
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Americans have friends. We just never really see them'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Is post-election violence inevitable, win or lose?
Today's Big Question As Election Day draws near so does the prospect of a violent response, no matter the eventual outcome
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Who will win the 2024 presidential election?
In Depth Election year is here. Who are pollsters and experts predicting to win the White House?
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Why are Democrats suing the Georgia election board?
Today's Big Question Worries about 'chaos on Election Day'
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
'It's not supposed to be this way'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What are the lessons from Ukraine's Russia incursion?
Talking Points And what do they mean for Putin's red lines?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Is taunting Trump the key to Harris' campaign?
Today's Big Question Democrats embrace mockery instead of menace
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published