A federal judge for the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., dismissed a lawsuit brought by retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman that accused Donald Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., attorney Rudy Giuliani, and others of witness intimidation and retaliation in connection to Vindman’s congressional testimony against the former president.
Judge James Boasber, an Obama appointee, wrote that Vindman’s complaint did not meet the necessary standards to prove the defendants conspired “to intimidate and unlawfully retaliate against him,” according to the 29-page ruling.
ALEXANDER VINDMAN ALLEGES IN LAWSUIT THAT TRUMP ALLIES CONSPIRED AGAINST HIM
“Plaintiff’s pled facts, taken as true, certainly suggest that Defendants leveled harsh, meanspirited, and at times misleading attacks against him. But political hackery alone does not violate [Section] 1985. Because Vindman does not sufficiently allege a violation of the 1871 Act, the Court will grant Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss,” Boasber added.
The complaint stems from the former president’s July 25, 2019, phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which he allegedly asked the foreign leader to investigate his political rival, then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
The alleged negotiations were about an exchange of U.S. military aid for an investigation into Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and his ties to Ukrainian companies during the build-up to the 2020 general election.
After the call, which Vindman was on, he went to his brother to “discuss his concern that President Trump had violated U.S. laws by asking a foreign government to interfere in a U.S. presidential election.” Vindman was later subpoenaed by Congress, which eventually led to Trump’s first impeachment.
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Vindman’s complaint, which followed the subpoena, alleged he became a target of “a dangerous campaign of witness intimidation by President Trump and a group of conspirators” in an effort to thwart him from offering his testimony.
Defendants in the suit include the former president’s onetime personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, Trump Jr., and Trump advisers Julia Hahn and Dan Scavino. The judge’s ruling dismissed the case against all the defendants.
