Last Updated on February 25, 2022
Trump impeachment “star witness” Alexander Vindman blamed the Ukraine-Russia conflict on 2021’s January 6 election protests in a bizarre statement. Vindman later claimed that Trump and his supporters have “blood on their hands.”
“The Republicans that have been pandering and catering to Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are going to own this,” Vindman told MSNBC’s Alex Wagner. “They’ll be the ones responsible for encouraging Vladimir Putin to offer them the opportunity to portray the U.S. as divided.”
In a bizarre statement, Vindman then insinuated that Putin decided to move on Ukraine after the January 6 election protests. “That’s what Vladimir Putin was acting on when he started this buildup just days after January 6 uh insurrection effort.”
These people and a great deal of the GOP leadership will have blood on their hands. They’re fanning flames, encouraging Putin to attack Ukraine. Putin and his regime perceive opportunities because such fools suggest the U.S. is weak, divided, and distracted. https://t.co/OCmnjFadQb
— Alexander S. Vindman ❎ (@AVindman) February 20, 2022
Vindman has repeatedly accused elected Republicans of supporting Putin without providing any examples. The former NSC advisor has joined several leftists in claiming Trump called Putin a “genius” and praised the invasion based on an out of context clip, however. Vindman’s wife, Rachel Vindman, called U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) a “f****ng traitor” after she criticized Biden and expressed her desire to stay out of the conflict.
You are a fucking traitor.
— Rachel Vindman 🇺🇸🦅🌻 (@natsechobbyist) February 24, 2022
Vindman previously served on the National Security Council (NSC) but gained widespread recognition after his testimony to the U.S. House’s impeachment inquiry in 2019. Vindman alleged that Trump officials dangled a quid-pro-quo agreement with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zalensky in which Zalensky’s government would investigate Hunter Biden’s shady business dealings in exchange for a meeting with President Trump. The NSC official claimed this happened on two separate occasions, with one offer occurring during a meeting with Zalensky and another during a phone call between Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
Vindman — who was born in Kyiv, Ukraine — testified that he was offered the position of Ukrainian Minister of Defense during the impeachment inquiry. He was also suspected of leaking information while still employed by the NSC.