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John Kelly says Vindman was right to report Trump's call with Zelensky - CNNPolitics
I'm glad Kelly spoke up in support of Vindman. There has been a lot of false information and red herrings being thrown about concerning the fact that Vindman violated the chain of command. We have to remember that in the United States everyone who serves the government, including military personnel, takes an oath to the Constitution, not to the President.
Former White House chief of staff John Kelly said Wednesday that Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a key witness in President Donald Trump's impeachment inquiry, was right to raise concerns about Trump's July call to Ukraine's president, The Atlantic reported.
Kelly also believes that Vindman, who was fired from White House last week, told the truth during testimony before House investigators last fall.
"Having seen something 'questionable (in the call),' Vindman properly notified his superiors," Kelly said at an event at Drew University, according to the magazine. "When subpoenaed by Congress in the House impeachment hearings, Vindman complied and told the truth."
"He did exactly what we teach them to do from cradle to grave," he said, according to the magazine. "He went and told his boss what he just heard."
Kelly said that when Vindman heard Trump tell Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he wanted the country to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, the ask was for the aide "tantamount to hearing 'an illegal order,'" The Atlantic reported. Trump and his allies have repeatedly made unfounded and false claims to allege that the Bidens acted corruptly in Ukraine.
"We teach them, 'Don't follow an illegal order. And if you're ever given one, you'll raise it to whoever gives it to you that this is an illegal order, and then tell your boss,'" Kelly said, according to the magazine.
The comments by Kelly, a retired Marine general, come as Trump has suggested Vindman could face disciplinary action, though a US defense official with knowledge of the matter told CNN there is no Army investigation into the Iraq War veteran and Purple Heart recipient.
Last month, Kelly said he believes John Bolton's allegation that Trump told the former national security adviser that US security aid to Ukraine was conditioned on an investigation of the President's political rivals, adding that Bolton should be heard from. At the time, congressional Democrats were trying to get the Senate to subpoena Bolton to testify during Trump's impeachment trial but the efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.
In October, Kelly said the President would not be in the middle of an impeachment process if he were still chief of staff, implying that White House advisers could have prevented it. He also said before he left the White House he advised Trump on hiring his replacement.
"I said whatever you do, don't hire a 'yes man,' someone who won't tell you the truth — don't do that," Kelly said at the time. "Because if you do, I believe you will be impeached."
I'm glad Kelly spoke up in support of Vindman. There has been a lot of false information and red herrings being thrown about concerning the fact that Vindman violated the chain of command. We have to remember that in the United States everyone who serves the government, including military personnel, takes an oath to the Constitution, not to the President.