- US Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the National Security Council adviser who testified in President Donald Trump's impeachment inquiry, was escorted from the White House Friday afternoon.
- Vindman, who immigrated aged three with his parents from Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union, served in the Army since 1999.
- Business Insider obtained military documents showing the announcement of his Purple Heart award.
- Vindman's Purple Heart citation is one of the career hallmarks that Democratic lawmakers have referenced to support his account as a credible witness.
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US Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the National Security Council adviser who testified in President Donald Trump's impeachment inquiry, was escorted out of the White House on Friday afternoon.
His attorney David Pressman of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP said in a statement on his departure from the White House: "There is no question in the mind of any American why this man's job is over, why this country now has one less soldier serving it at the White House."
"[Lieutenant Colonel] Vindman was asked to leave for telling the truth. His honor, his commitment to right, frightened the powerful."
The career soldier is expected to be reassigned within the Defense Department.
Vindman was scheduled to leave his White House role in July anyway, according to CNN, but was ousted earlier.
Vindman's departure came the day after Trump railed against him for his October testimony to House Representatives.
"Well, I'm not happy with him," Trump said on Thursday, referring to Vindman.
"You think I'm supposed to be happy with him? I'm not."
During his testimony, Vindman said he "did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a US citizen," referring to Trump's demand for Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate his Democratic rivals, namely former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.
Vindman, who immigrated with his parents from then-Soviet controlled Ukraine when he was three, has served in the Army since 1999. As an infantryman, his most notable accomplishments include completing the US Army's Ranger course and earning the Expert Infantryman Badge.
He would later deploy to Iraq with the 5th Infantry Regiment. According to a military citation, he received a Purple Heart in 2004 after he was injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack. Vindman's Purple Heart citation is one of the career hallmarks that Democratic lawmakers have referenced to support his account as a credible witness.
He was a member of the Pentagon's Joint Staff from 2015 to 2018, and later a foreign area officer focusing on Eurasia.
Despite numerous attacks by Trump and his surrogates, Vindman described his actions as being motivated by patriotism, rather than politics.
"I sit here, as a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army, an immigrant," Vindman said during his public testimony in November
"I have a deep appreciation for American values and ideals and the power of freedom," he added. "I am a patriot, and it is my sacred duty and honor to advance and defend our country, irrespective of party or politics."