The Atlantic reports:
Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, the former National Security Council aide and impeachment witness President Donald Trump fired Friday, was just doing his job, former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told students and guests at a Drew University event here Wednesday night. Over a 75-minute speech and Q&A session, Kelly laid out, in the clearest terms yet, his misgivings about Trump’s words and actions regarding North Korea, illegal immigration, military discipline, Ukraine, and the news media.
Responding to questions from the audience, Kelly faulted Trump for intervening in the case of Eddie Gallagher, a Navy Seal who was convicted last year of posing with the corpse of an Islamic State fighter. Trump reversed a Navy decision to oust Gallagher, in a chain of events that led to the resignation of Navy Secretary Richard Spencer. “The idea that the commander in chief intervened there, in my opinion, was exactly the wrong thing to do,” Kelly said. “Had I been there, I think I could have prevented it.” The audience applauded.
There SO much more at the link.
“We teach them, Don’t follow an illegal order. And if you’re ever given one, you’ll raise it to whoever gives it to you that this is an illegal order, and then tell your boss.” https://t.co/sSB8w0MuaX
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) February 13, 2020
John Kelly, Trump’s former chief of staff and ex-DHS secretary, says the press is not “the enemy of the people,” and that migrants crossing the southern border are overwhelmingly good people who are looking for jobs. https://t.co/IcNver0aif
— Peter Nicholas (@PeterAtlantic) February 13, 2020
—>> Trump’s former Chief of Staff Kelly compares his pressure on Ukraine to “an illegal order”. These are remarkable public comments. How will the president and his allies attack?
https://t.co/N5sT9Pt5SF— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) February 13, 2020
“In the speech, he said he disagreed with Trump over the scope of the problem. Trump’s border wall doesn’t need to extend ‘from sea to shining sea,’ Kelly said. He also disapproved of Trump’s language in describing migrants, he said.”https://t.co/P7HIhZcL0u
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) February 13, 2020