The Atlantic: John Kelly says Vindman was right to report Trump’s call with Zelensky

By Devan Cole, CNN

Updated 8:39 AM ET, Thu February 13, 2020

Washington (CNN)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.

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Article URL : https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/13/politics/john-kelly-trump-criticism-vindman/index.html