Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman was one of the first witnesses in the House of Representatives' initial impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
Vindman testified before the House's select committee on impeachment late last year after hearing Trump's infamous July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
With Trump impeached and the Senate trial well on its way, chief House impeachment manager Adam Schiff (D-CA) quoted one of Vindman's most memorable statements in a rousing speech while making the case against Trump: "Here, right matters."
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) wasn't on board with the praise for Vindman, however, and soon she made that clear in an ill-advised tweet.
Vindman is a Purple Heart recipient who was hit with an improvised explosive device overseas. When he testified against Trump before the House committee, despite defamation at the hands of the White House and Trump's allies.
His lawyers responded in a statement:
"That a member of the Senate—at a moment when the Senate is undertaking its most solemn responsibility—would chose to take to Twitter to spread slander about a member of the military is a testament to cowardice. While Senator Blackburn fires off defamatory tweets, Lieutenant Colonel Vindman will continue to do what he has always done: serve our country dutifully and with honor."
Blackburn seems ready to continue the demonization of Vindman. Since her tactless tweet, she's continued to chastise the Lieutenant Colonel on Twitter.
Senator Blackburn—along with her colleagues in the Senate—took an oath of impartiality ahead of the impeachment trial, but that oath seems to have dissolved.
Blackburn was lambasted by Twitter for her words against Vindman.
Blackburn has reportedly been reading a book at her desk during the Senate's impeachment trial.
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