Fact-Checking Trump’s Defense for Removing Vindman

President Donald Trump defended removing Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman from the White House’s National Security Council by claiming that Vindman’s “superior … publicly stated that Vindman had problems with judgement, adhering to the chain of command and leaking information.” But the latter claim leaves a false impression, and the others omit important context.

Trump is referring to Timothy Morrison, who was the NSC’s senior director for Russia and Europe, and Vindman’s direct supervisor for a little more than three months in 2019, from mid-July through the end of October.

Here is a summary of what Morrison did and didn’t say about Vindman, who, like Morrison, listened in on Trump’s July 25 call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and testified in the House impeachment inquiry:

• Morrison did not say that Vindman “had problems with … leaking information,” as Trump claimed. Morrison said that some of his colleagues expressed to him that Vindman may have leaked information, but Morrison never said that he believed those claims.
• Morrison did say that he and other officials had