Alexander Vindman鈥檚 faith in democracy remains intact
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman became a reluctant public figure in the fall of 2019, when he testified before the United States Congress in the inquiry that led to President Donald Trump鈥檚 first impeachment. Vindman, an immigrant from Ukraine who became a decorated Army officer and later served as director for European affairs on the National Security Council (NSC), was one of several White House officials who listened in on the July 25, 2019, phone call on which Trump was supposed to congratulate Ukraine鈥檚 new president, Volodymyr Zelensky, on his party鈥檚 victory in the country鈥檚 parliamentary elections.
As the NSC鈥檚 expert on Russia and Ukraine, Vindman himself had written Trump鈥檚 talking points for the call, but he immediately realized, with alarm, that the president wasn鈥檛 adhering to them. Instead, as the world eventually learned, Trump asked Zelensky to investigate discredited rumors involving Hunter Biden and his father, Joe Biden, whom Trump expected to face in the 2020 presidential election. 鈥淗ere, Right Matters: An American Story鈥� is Vindman鈥檚 earnest account of his decision to report the call up the chain of command, an action that set the impeachment in motion.
As a memoir, the book covers more than that, of course, beginning with the author鈥檚 childhood in Brooklyn and spanning his long, distinguished military career. Even those early sections, however, by using Vindman鈥檚 immigrant story and passion for military service to express his deep patriotism, serve to frame his actions upon hearing the call. The book鈥檚 title is taken from the most stirring moment of his November 2019 public testimony, when he mentioned that his father 鈥� an engineer who fled the Soviet Union (Ukraine was then a Soviet republic) to, in his son鈥檚 words, 鈥渆scape an arbitrary, tyrannical government鈥� 鈥� was concerned that his son would be targeted by the administration for his role in the impeachment.聽聽
Referring to his decision to report the call, and thus to place himself in opposition to the president, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney asked Vindman, 鈥淲hy do you have confidence that you can do that, and tell your dad not to worry?鈥� Vindman replied, 鈥淐ongressman, because this is America. This is the country I鈥檝e served and defended, that all of my brothers have served. And here, right matters.鈥澛�
Those who follow the news will be familiar with these proceedings: not only the call, but the administration鈥檚 hold on nearly $400 million in security funds that Congress had earmarked for Ukraine; the pursuit of a shadow agenda there by Rudy Guiliani, the president's personal attorney;聽Trump鈥檚 unusual recall of U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch from the country. Still, it鈥檚 edifying to get Vindman鈥檚 perspective. He recalls his and his colleagues鈥� bafflement, in the run-up to the call, over Trump鈥檚 鈥渋nexplicable hostility鈥� toward America鈥檚 ally Ukraine, a country, Vindman explains, with importance to U.S. strategic interests 鈥渁s a bulwark against Russian aggression in eEastern Europe.鈥� He further describes their attempts 鈥渢o do our jobs, now somewhat desperately, against a host of mounting obstacles.鈥澛�
For his part, once Vindman told his superiors of the call, he writes, 鈥淚鈥檇 reported what I knew and then gotten back to work.鈥� Somewhat naively, he notes that even then, 鈥渞eversing the hold on the Ukraine funds was the foremost (and, at this point, nearly the only) thing on my mind.鈥澛�
His dedication to his work is touching. He wasn鈥檛 alone: he writes with admiration of the commitment and professionalism of his colleagues who struggled heroically to keep our foreign policy on track. He is less kind toward those political appointees in the administration who had no expertise in Eastern Europe and, as far as Vindman could tell, cared primarily about advancing their careers or saving their own skins.
Vindman鈥檚 wife saw before he did that he was about to be thrust into the center of a firestorm. When Trump鈥檚 call became public, Vindman was sidelined and badmouthed by those who saw him as an obstacle to their own political advancement; he was also a victim of harsh partisan attacks in the media. He understood that his testimony made the Trump White House regard him as an enemy. What surprised and saddened him was that the army, an institution he loved, began to regard him as 鈥渁 liability, a headache, and a bad one.鈥� Reluctantly, he retired from the military.
Vindman鈥檚 writing is direct and unadorned. One wishes he鈥檇 quoted more from the hearings to make his account more dramatic. But 鈥淗ere, Right Matters鈥� is still a compelling read. It鈥檚 interesting to gain his perspective on these events now that time has passed. 鈥淚鈥檝e come to realize that the system worked largely as it was supposed to,鈥� he writes. 鈥淕ood actors did their duty, obeyed their oaths, and defended the Constitution.鈥� It鈥檚 heartening that Vindman鈥檚 patriotism remains intact, even if he became collateral damage as the system did its work.
