A retired US Army lieutenant-colonel who was a pivotal witness in the first impeachment case against Donald Trump has sued the oldest son of the former president and other Trump allies, accusing them of participating in an "intentional, concerted campaign of unlawful intimidation and retaliation" over his decision to testify.
Donald Trump Jr and allies sued by witness from first impeachment case
AP
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"The actions taken by Defendants against Lt Col Vindman sent a message to other potential witnesses as well: co-operate at your own peril," the suit states, adding that "the message reverberates to this day" as witnesses in the congressional investigation into the January 6 riot at the US Capitol defy subpoenas at the Republican former president's direction.
Lawyers for Trump Jr, Scavino and Giuliani did not immediately return messages seeking comment. Hahn also did not return an email seeking comment.
Vindman, an Iraq war veteran whose family fled the Soviet Union when he was a child, was a key impeachment witness, testifying that he twice raised concerns over the Trump administration's push to have Ukraine investigate Biden. After listening to the July 2019 call between Trump and Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he said he reported his concerns to a lawyer at the National Security Council.
Vindman says in the suit that he swiftly became a "household name" thanks to a intimidation campaign laden with falsehoods.
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"The attacks on Lt Col Vindman did not simply happen by accident or coincidence, nor were they the result of normal politics or modern news cycles," the lawsuit states.
"Rather," it adds, "the co-ordinated campaign was the result of a common understanding and agreement among and between President Trump, defendants, and others comprising a close group of aides and associates inside and outside of the White House, to target Lt Col Vindman in a specific way for the specific purpose of intimidation and retaliation."
As a result of the treatment, Vindman "has sustained significant financial, emotional, and reputational harm," according to the lawsuit, which seeks compensatory and punitive damages.
Vindman announced in July 2020 that he was retiring from the US Army after more than 21 years, and at the time raised similar allegations of harassment, bullying and intimidation as in Wednesday's lawsuit. He has since come out with a book about his experiences, titled, Here, Right Matters: An American Story.
