GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn tweets conspiratorial smear against Lt. Col Vindman

Marsha Blackburn.
(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) has it out for a Purple Heart veteran.

When Lt. Col Alexander Vindman testified in the impeachment hearing into President Trump on Tuesday, Trump and other Republicans questioned his military bonafides and seemed skeptical of the fact that he doesn't know who the Ukraine whistleblower is. And in a Friday tweet, Blackburn kept the attacks going, tweeting that "Vindictive Vindman is the 'whistleblower’s' handler."

There's a lot wrong with this short tweet. First, it suggests Vindman has something against Trump, furthering the right-wing rhetoric that claims he's less American because he was born in the Soviet Union. And second, it falsely claims Vindman knows the identity of the whistleblower — something that isn't true, but didn't stop Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) from trying to get Vindman to spill their identity on Tuesday. And third, it's an outright smear on a high-ranking military official who received heaps of praise for his service before, during, and after his hearing.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.