The Daily - The Latest: A Republican Strategy Revealed

Episode Date: November 20, 2019

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council, gave public testimony of his alarm at what he heard during President Trump’s July phone call with the leader of Ukraine. Appearing in his Army dress uniform trimmed with military ribbons, Colonel Vindman spoke of himself as a patriot, an account that Democrats echoed. The president’s Republican allies, however, told a different story.“The Latest” is a new series on the impeachment inquiry, from the team behind “The Daily.” You can find more information about it here.

It started with a whistleblower's complaint about President Trump's contact with a foreign leader. I had a perfect phone call with the president of Ukraine. Like, I mean perfect. Today, I'm announcing the House of Representatives moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry. Good morning, everyone. This is the third in a series of public hearings the committee will be holding as part of the House impeachment inquiry. It's Mike Schmidt in the Washington Bureau of the New York Times. Today was another big day of testimony, testimony coming from four different witnesses split into a morning and afternoon session. Three of these witnesses were actually on the infamous July 25th call between Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky. And not surprisingly, much of the testimony today

was about that call. What did these officials think about the call when they heard it? How was it dealt with? What were the implications of it? Why was it troubling? But the latest is that for me, what we really saw today was the Republican strategy on display in a way that we hadn't before. The best example of this came with how the Republicans treated one of the witnesses in the morning session. The uniform I wear today is that of the United States Army. Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman. Vindman is the director for European affairs

at the National Security Council. He's a career military officer. And in his opening statement, he describes how his father chose to come to the United States from the Soviet Union. When my father was 47 years old, he left behind his entire life so his three sons could have a better and safer lives. And the profound sense of duty that instilled in him. As a young man, I decided I wanted to spend my life serving this nation that gave my family refuge from authoritarian oppression. And he finishes his opening statement by looking straight at the camera

and addressing his father directly. Dad, I'm sitting here today in the U.S. Capitol talking to our elected professionals. It's proof that you made the right decision 40 years ago to leave the Soviet Union and come here to the United States of America. Do not worry. I will be fine for telling the truth. Thank you again for your consideration. I'll be happy to answer your questions. So obviously, this is a powerful introduction. And immediately, this sets him up as a strong character witness for the Democrats, a uniformed patriot, essentially, just trying to do the right thing for his country. Colonel Vindman, what was your real- what his reaction was to the July 25th call, which Vindman had been listening in on. It was inappropriate. It was improper for the president to request and to demand an investigation into a political opponent. Which Vindman characterizes

as a demand by the president to investigate one of his political rivals. Colonel, you've described this as a demand, this favor that the president asked. Chairman, the culture I come from, the military culture, when a senior asks you to do something, even if it's polite and pleasant, it's not to be taken as a request. It's to be taken as an order. And then it was the Republicans' turn to question Vindman. And this is where we saw this new sharp line of attack from them. I thank the ranking member. Colonel, I want to thank you for your service and sacrifice to our great country. This afternoon, your former boss, Mr. Morrison, is going to be sitting right where you're sitting.

Representative Jim Jordan, who's sort of been the tip of the spear for the Republicans at these hearings, brings up earlier closed-door testimony that Bindman's boss, Tim Morrison, had given. Mr. Morrison said this, I had concerns about Lieutenant Colonel Vindman's judgment. Jordan says that Morrison, as well as Fiona Hill, another National Security Council official, had concerns about Vindman's judgment. So your boss had concerns about your judgment, your former boss Dr. Hill had concerns about your judgment, your colleagues had concerns about your judgment. Any idea why they have those impressions Colonel Vindman? Yes Representative Jordan I guess I'll start by reading Dr. Hill's own words, as she attested to in my last evaluation that was dated.

Vindman kind of deftly responds by taking out his own performance review and reading from what Fiona Hill said about him. Alex is a top 1% military officer and the best army officer I've worked with in my 15 years of government service. He is brilliant, unflappable, and exercises excellent judgment. So, Mr. Jordan, I would say that I can't say why Mr. Morrison questioned my judgment. Maybe it was different cultures, military cultures. So we're seeing here that the Republicans are turning their focus from what the hearing was intended to be about, the phone call between Trump and Zelensky, to basically a fight over who Vindman is, his credibility. And this has been a talking point of the conservative media for weeks. Here we have a U.S. national security official who is advising Ukraine while working inside

the White House, apparently against the president's interest. The Republicans in the House are using the exact same rhetoric, but now straight to Vindman's face. And in the middle of his testimony, the White House began to run with it too. The White House where Vindman still works. They tweeted out during his questioning the quote from Morrison, I had concerns about Lieutenant Colonel Vindman's judgment. So there's no real surprise here. The hearings are playing out along party lines.

But the question is, how will independent Americans see this? Who will they believe? Will they believe this man sitting in his military uniform with a purple heart on it, talking about a patriotic sense of duty that his father, who immigrated to the United States, instilled in him? Or will the American public believe conservatives in the House and the White House and the far-right media? That's sort of the question of these hearings. So that's the latest.