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Retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman is suing Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani and former Trump White House staffers, alleging they conspired against him

Vindman, in a new lawsuit filed in DC District Court, says Trump’s family, his lawyers, right-wing media and others in the White House tried to intimidate and retaliate against him because he was willing to testify against the President, calling out Trump’s entreaties of Ukraine for his personal political gain.

Vindman, the former director of European Affairs for the US National Security Council, seeks an unspecified amount in damages. Also named in his suit are former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino and Julia Hahn, a former Breitbart editor who worked in the Trump White House.

The lawsuit alleges Trump and his allies “engaged in an intentional, concerted campaign of unlawful intimidation and retaliation” against Vindman “to prevent him from and then punish him for testifying truthfully before Congress during impeachment proceedings against President Trump.”

Vindman was a key witness in Trump’s 2019 impeachment trial, as he was on the phone when Trump pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Democrats, including Joe Biden. CNN previously reported Vindman testified that he was concerned about the call between Trump and the Ukrainian President, and when he raised those concerns, he was told not to discuss the call
Trump fired Vindman from the National Security Council in February 2020 and he was consequently reassigned to the Army.
Vindman retired from the Army in July 2020 after more than 21 years of military service. His lawyer told CNN at the time that the decision was prompted because he determined that his future in the armed forces “will forever be limited” due to political retaliation by Trump and his allies.

This story has been updated with additional background information.

CNN’s Shawna Mizelle contributed to this report.

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