266. Alexander Vindman - Why People Willing to Resist Abuses of Power are Lifeblood of Healthy Democracy.

0900, Thursday, July 25, 2019: President Trump called Ukraine's President Zelensky, supposedly to congratulate him on his recent victory. In the months that followed, the American public would only learn what happened on that call because Alexander Vindman felt duty-bound to report it up the chain of command: that the President of the United States had extorted a foreign ally to damage a political challenger at home. Vindman's actions and subsequent testimony before congress would lead to Trump's impeachment and affirm Vindman's belief that he had done the right thing in the face of intense pressure to stay silent. But it would come at an enormous cost, straining relationships with colleagues, superiors, and even his own father, and eventually end his decorated career in the US Army, by a Trump administration intent on retribution. ---------- SPEAKER: Alexander Vindman is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, was most recently the director for Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Russia on the White House’s National Security Council. Previously, he served as the Political-Military Affairs Officer for Russia for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as an attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia. While on the Joint Staff, he co-authored the National Military Strategy Russia Annex and was the principal author for the Global Campaign for Russia. Alexander is a Doctor of International Affairs, Senior Fellow of the Foreign Policy Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and author of the bestselling memoir Here, Right Matters. ---------- LINKS: https://twitter.com/AVindman https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-vindman-11340280/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Vindman ---------- BOOKS: Here, Right Matters: An American Story Hardcover (2021) https://alexandervindmanbook.com/ https://www.harpercollins.com/blogs/authors/alexander-vindman-20213242836650 ----------