Army Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, whose brother Alex was a star witness in the House impeachment inquiry, is set to be promoted to colonel after overcoming alleged retaliation efforts by the Trump White House, a person familiar with the matter said.
Vindman, an Army JAG attorney who served as the ethics counsel on the National Security Council during the Trump administration, is expected to be included on the Army’s promotion list that will become publicly available on Tuesday. Politico first reported Vindman’s expected promotion.
The promotion will come despite critical performance reviews penned by Trump political appointees in the wake of his brother’s testimony before the House Intelligence Committee.
Vindman alleged in a complaint to the Department of Defense’s Inspector General that those performance reviews and other actions by Trump White House officials were retaliation for concerns he raised internally about former President Donald Trump’s 2019 phone call with Ukraine’s President and his twin brother’s testimony in the impeachment inquiry.
Vindman had also investigated allegations involving then-national security adviser Robert O’Brien and his chief of staff Alex Gray, according to a complaint he filed last year. The allegations, Vindman wrote, included “sexism, violations of standards of ethical conduct for employees and violations” of a law involving congressional appropriations, according to the Democrats’ letter.
Vindman’s Trump-appointed superiors had penned glowing reviews the year prior, according to quotes of the reviews in his complaint.
The Pentagon’s Inspector General has not yet concluded its investigation into the allegations.
Vindman’s brother, Alex, retired from the Army last summer following what his attorney described as “a campaign of bullying, intimidation, and retaliation” and reports that his promotion was being held up over concerns about political retaliation by the President and his staff.
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