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Impeachment probe: top adviser Alexander Vindman so alarmed by Donald Trump’s Ukraine call that he reported it to White House lawyer
- Army lieutenant colonel is first current White House official and only person listening in on July 25 call to testify so far
- Joe Biden defends Vindman as ‘hell of a patriot’ as Trump allies attack his integrity and question his loyalty to United States
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A top adviser to US President Donald Trump on Ukraine testified on Tuesday that he was so alarmed after hearing Trump ask Ukraine’s president to investigate a political rival, Democrat Joe Biden, that he reported the matter to a White House lawyer out of concern for US national security.
Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, director of European affairs for the National Security Council, arrived at the US Capitol clad in his military dress uniform as he became the first current White House official to testify in the House of Representatives impeachment inquiry against Trump.
Vindman, a Ukraine-born American citizen and decorated Iraq war combat veteran, also became the first person to testify who listened in on the July 25 call at the heart of the Ukraine scandal.
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Even before his arrival, some allies of the Republican president, including Fox News host Laura Ingraham, sought to attack Vindman’s integrity and questioned his loyalty to the United States.
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Biden defended Vindman as a hero, calling attacks on the Army officer’s character and loyalty “despicable.”
“He’s a hell of a patriot,” the former US vice-president told MSNBC.
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