Why Alexander Vindman had an inkling Trump's infamous Ukraine call would go 'haywire' before it took place
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.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
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.
-
Political cartoons for December 1Cartoons Monday’s political cartoons include Trump's energy, the debt trap, and more
-
The launch of Your Party: how it could workThe Explainer Despite landmark decisions made over the party’s makeup at their first conference, core frustrations are ‘likely to only intensify in the near-future’
-
Andriy Yermak: how weak is Zelenskyy without his right-hand man?Today's Big Question Resignation of Ukrainian president’s closest ally marks his ‘most politically perilous moment yet’
-
Andriy Yermak: how weak is Zelenskyy without his right-hand man?Today's Big Question Resignation of Ukrainian president’s closest ally marks his ‘most politically perilous moment yet’
-
The US-Saudi relationship: too big to fail?Talking Point With the Saudis investing $1 trillion into the US, and Trump granting them ‘major non-Nato ally’ status, for now the two countries need each other
-
Could Trump run for a third term?The Explainer Constitutional amendment limits US presidents to two terms, but Trump diehards claim there is a loophole
-
Trump’s Ukraine peace talks advance amid leaked callSpeed Read Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is set to visit Russia next week
-
Memo signals Trump review of 233k refugeesSpeed Read The memo also ordered all green card applications for the refugees to be halted
-
Judge tosses Trump DOJ cases against Comey, JamesSpeed Read Both cases could potentially be brought again
-
X’s location update exposes international troll industryIn the Spotlight Social media platform’s new transparency feature reveals ‘scope and geographical breadth’ of accounts spreading misinformation
-
Tariffs: Will Trump’s reversal lower prices?Feature Retailers may not pass on the savings from tariff reductions to consumers
