Stephen Colbert calls out Trump allies' attempts to discredit witness to the Ukraine phone call

"It's a classic case of he said... he said, he said, he said."
 By 
Shannon Connellan
 on 
Stephen Colbert calls out Trump allies' attempts to discredit witness to the Ukraine phone call
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The Late Show's Stephen Colbert has unpacked the efforts of Donald Trump and his allies, who are seeking to discredit the testimony of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, first-hand witness to the president's phone call with President Zelenskiy of Ukraine.

Vindman oversees Ukraine policy at the White House as a member of the National Security Council (NSC), and testified in the impeachment inquiry against Trump, as having heard the call first-hand from the Situation Room on July 25.

Trump's allies have not only attacked Vindman's character and questioned his patriotism (even though he's a decorated U.S. lieutenant colonel), but as Colbert pointed out, Vindman's testimony contradicts that of Gordon Sondland, ambassador to the European Union, who told House investigators that "no one had raised concerns" about the president's actions.

All Colbert had to do was map out the amount of times Vindman had, in fact, done this — even in person with his identical twin brother, a lawyer on the NSC — as stipulated in his statement to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

"Yes, Vindman had not 'raised concerns,'" said Colbert. "All he did was 'convey certain concerns,' 'share his concerns,' 'reported his concerns', and 'again reported his concerns.'"

"It's a classic case of he said... he said, he said, he said."

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Shannon Connellan
Senior Editor

Shannon Connellan is Mashable's Senior Editor, General Assignments, based in London. She has been Mashable's UK Editor (and still manages the illustrious UK team) and Australia Editor, but emotionally, she lives searching for Exit 8. A Tomatometer-approved critic, Shannon writes about entertainment, tech, social good, science, culture, and Australian horror, and loves to nerd out with movie stars, filmmakers, and TV creators.


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