The comments come just days after Trump did, in fact, fire Vindman and US ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland -- both key impeachment witnesses -- along with Vindman's twin, Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, a National Security Council attorney. An adviser to Trump had said the firings of the major impeachment witnesses was meant to send a message that siding against the President will not be tolerated. The duo, who gave some of the most damning testimony to House impeachment investigators during the public hearings, became targets for Trump's supporters. Both brothers were "reassigned" shortly after the impeachment trial concluded and were escorted out of the White House, which O'Brien called "standard procedure." Pressed on whether he was alleging that was what had happened in the case of the Vindmans, O'Brien denied that he was.

Source: CNN February 12, 2020 03:00 UTC