Vindman twin set for promotion after poor reviews from Trump appointees



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Yevgeny Vindman is now on a list of Colonel promotions that has been approved by the White House and is heading to the Senate for formal confirmation, according to the two people familiar with the subject. The list was recently circulated by senior military officials and is expected to be released on Tuesday.

Asked for comments, Lt. Col. Gabriel Ramirez, an army spokesman, said in a statement: “It is the policy of the military not to discuss the results of the board of directors who do not ‘have not been published. ” Vindman declined to comment. A White House spokesperson made no comment.

Vindman filed a complaint last August with the Pentagon Inspector General, alleging he suffered retaliation from the bureau chiefs of his former White House lawyers, John Eisenberg and Michael Ellis, for reporting a fault of Trump. He also filed allegations of ethics violations by former national security adviser Robert O’Brien for allegedly using official NSC staff time for personal errands and “demeaning and demoralizing sexist behavior against.” .. professionals from the NSC ”. time, calling Vindman “a disgruntled former junior level detail.” This investigation is ongoing.

Eisenberg and Ellis filed what could have been an end-of-career appraisal of Vindman last year, claiming he lacked judgment and had lost the trust of senior NSC officials, according to the complaint filed by Vindman. The promotions committee met for the first time about two months after the negative reviews, according to the two people familiar with the matter.

But Major-General Michel Russell, a deputy deputy chief of staff of the army, conducted an investigation and concluded that the evaluations were not objective, according to the people. In mid-January, his findings were approved by Lt. Gen. Gary Brito, Chief of Staff of the Army, resulting in the assessments being deleted and never included in official records for the Committee of promotions could take them into account, according to the two people. .

Eisenberg took issue with submitting the negative review in a manner programmed to harm Vindman’s career, saying there are strict deadlines for exams. He declined to comment further than to say that the military “led its process.” Ellis did not respond to a request for comment.

The year before the harsh criticism, Eisenberg wrote in July 2019 that Vindman was “one of the best lawyers and military officers” and “he can do any job in the legal field under unusual pressure and scrutiny and constant. Select now for SSC [Senior Service College] and immediately promote to COL. Absolutely unlimited potential! ”

But after the Vindman brothers raised concerns with Eisenberg about Trump’s conduct during the Ukraine appeal, which took place later in July, the two were dismissed from their jobs and Yevgeny Vindman was dismissed from their jobs. was rated “unsatisfactory” and “unqualified” in his performance review last April, months after he left the NSC, according to the complaint.

In this April 2020 assessment, Ellis wrote that Vindman was “a hardworking officer, but he often lacks judgment and struggles to understand the proper role of a lawyer in an organization.” … On several occasions his unprofessional behavior made NSC staff uncomfortable. Eisenberg wrote that Vindman “would benefit from additional experience in a slower paced work environment with less pressure and scrutiny.” He noted that “over time he could become a better lawyer.”

But former Trump national security adviser John Bolton and deputy national security adviser Charlie Kupperman have said otherwise, and Bolton even praised Vindman’s work on cable news.

Vindman, who joined the military in 1997 in the infantry and served in Iraq as legal counsel, is currently a staff judge advocate and deputy chief adviser to the highest research, development command. and military engineering technology in Aberdeen, Maryland.

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