Impeachment witness Alexander Vindman sues Trump Jr., Giuliani, alleging "campaign of intimidation and retaliation"

Washington — Retired Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, a key figure in the first impeachment proceedings against former President Donald Trump, has filed suit against Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani and two other ex-White House aides, alleging they mounted a coordinated campaign to intimidate and retaliate against him after he testified before House investigators.

Filed in federal district court in Washington, Vindman alleges that he was the target of a "dangerous campaign of witness intimidation" that sought to punish him for his role in the impeachment investigation and deter other potential witnesses from speaking out against Trump.

The suit names Trump Jr., the former president's oldest son, Giuliani, his personal attorney, and White House aides Dan Scavino and Julia Hahn. Vindman and his lawmakers argue the group conspired with one another "with a shared purpose of preventing, by force, intimidation, or threat, Lt. Col. Vindman from holding and discharging the duties of his office" in violation of federal civil rights law.

"Whatever one thinks of the merits of the underlying impeachment, purposefully attacking witnesses for participating in an official proceeding and telling the truth cannot be dismissed as politics as usual and cannot be tolerated in a nation built on the rule of law," Vindman's lawyers wrote in their complaint. "However toxic our politics may have become, this kind of unlawful conduct must not be accepted as 'normal' in any healthy democracy."

Vindman was among the officials who listened to a July 2019 phone call Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during which he repeatedly urged his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate then-presidential hopeful Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden in exchange for a White House visit and military aid.

Vindman, then the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council (NSC), raised concerns about the call with the NSC's counsel, and was subsequently subpoenaed to testify before lawmakers after the House opened an impeachment inquiry against Trump. In his public testimony, Vindman said he reported his concerns with the call "out of a sense of duty" and said Trump's suggestion that Zelenskyy investigate Mr. Biden was "inappropriate" and "improper."

While the House impeached Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, the Senate voted to acquit him of the two charges. Following the Senate vote, Vindman was ousted from his post at the White House. He retired from the U.S. Army in 2020.

In his suit against Trump Jr., Giuliani and the White House aides, Vindman alleges the group held meetings to coordinate strategy regarding impeachment witnesses and crafted talking points to push "false narratives" about Vindman's loyalty to the United States. He alleges the group also spread false claims he was a spy for Ukraine, leaked classified information to further their "false disloyalty narrative" and attempted to derail Vindman's promotion to full colonel, among other actions.

Vindman also claims the Trump White House worked to coordinate a false narrative with Fox News, namely host Laura Ingraham, and other allies to disparage him.

"The offensive against Lt. Col. Vindman started with direct and public threats by President Trump followed by a campaign to smear and intimidate him, with the intended effect of ruining his career and subjecting him and his family to further threats and harassment," his lawyers argue. "The campaign was waged on social media and on allied media outlets such as Fox News by President Trump, members of his administration including Defendants Scavino and Hahn, allies outside the White House including Defendants Donald Trump, Jr. and Rudy Giuliani (who was doing Trump's bidding as well as his own), Laura Ingraham and others at Fox News, and ultimately, even certain members of Congress."

Vindman is seeking damages of an unspecified amount. He claims the former president's and allies worked together to help him "obstruct a constitutional proceeding by intimidating and retaliating against a key witness."