The terrific @eliehonig told me he received a @cnn viewer question asking if LTC Vindman should be “Court-martialed for disloyalty to the Commander in Chief.” While not a military lawyer, as a commander I convened these legal proceedings. Here’s what I told him. 1 of 12.
2. All military take a vow to defend the constitution and obey the lawful orders of the president and those appointed over them. “Lawful” being the key word.
3. If an soldier sees or hears something perceive to be unlawful, unethical, or illegal, they have a duty and responsibility to report that through the chain of command, to the IG, or to a lawyer.
4. In my view, as a soldier Vindman acted exactly as he should. He went directly to the legal counsel to report what heard, in an attempt to determine if he was missing or misreading something. He was requesting legal counsel in expressing his concern.
5. Additionally, he did this in regard to context, after seemingly seeing and hearing things in other meetings, in other events, and discussing those with his bosses on the NSC. He did not go public, he worked through the NSC chain of command & the NSC lawyers
6. I would expect any soldier who thought he saw or heard an illegal act to report it immediately. Many do on a daily basis; those acts are investigated, and usually appropriate actions are taken. It is the soldier’s duty to do so.
7. As a commander, I had MANY soldiers report what they thought were illegal, unethical or immoral actions either through the chain of command or to the IG. Some turned out to be a misunderstanding or a lack of the soldier’s ability to understand actions in context.
8. Either way, the individual would be told the investigation results, even if only to clarify something they may not have understood. But there were also plenty of individuals court-martialed based on information provided by subordinates who saw something and reported it
9. It appears Vindman reported the facts and the situation as he knew them. He believed there was something amiss. It isn’t his job to judge the legality of the things he saw...that’s the job of the NSC lawyers (and now, the Congress).
10. To vilified someone for reporting a suspected wrong-doing is similar to vilifying someone for doing their duty by reporting what they believe might be a war crime in combat. No one would suggest that.
11. BTW, in my experience those most vehement in claiming “I did nothing wrong” were those usually found to have done something wrong. Those who allowed investigations play out, even contributing and supporting fact-finding, usually were clean.
12. In the last few days, I’ve also seen and heard a few say Vindman was wrong & should receive a court martial for disloyalty, even treason. It’s obvious those saying this don’t have a legal background or know how CMs work & they’ve forgotten what a soldier’s duty requires.
