Just two days after the Senate voted to acquit President Donald Trump in its impeachment trial, Trump began taking revenge against key figures who testified before the House Committee overseeing impeachment.
Trump started by firing Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman.
Vindman was one of the officials listening in on Trump's now-infamous phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Vindman expressed concerns about the call at the time and later complied with a congressional subpoena and testified about the call before the House Committee overseeing impeachment.
On Friday, Trump fired Lieutenant Colonel Vindman, a career military official and Purple Heart recipient. To add insult to injury, Trump had Vindman escorted out by security.
Vindman's twin brother, a fellow National Security Council employee, was fired as well, despite never testifying against the President and playing no role in the impeachment inquiry.
Trump took to Twitter defending his decision.
Trump claimed he fired Vindman due to a "horrendous report" from his superior. A Republican congressman brought this report up during Vindman's testimony, only for Vindman to read the glowing report from that same superior.
It was Trump's claim that Vindman incorrectly reported the contents of Trump's "perfect" calls which, to many, indicated the real reasons for ousting Vindman.
Since firing Vindman, Trump also fired ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, who testified before Congress as well. Sondland had donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration.
For the most detailed look inside the Trump White House yet, check out A Very Stable Genius, available here.
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