Lawyer For Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman Asks Fox News to Retract “False” Claim of “Espionage”

An attorney for Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman asked Fox News to retract a segment on which a pundit suggested he engaged in “espionage.”

The segment in question was from Laura Ingraham’s show on October 28.

Ingraham suggested that Vindman, who was brought to the US from the Soviet Union as a toddler, was more loyal to Ukraine than the United States.

"Isn't that kind of an interesting angle on this story?" Ingraham asked.

"I find that astounding," replied former Bush attorney and “Torture Memos” author John Yoo. "Some people might call that espionage."

Vindman asks for retraction:

Vindman attorney David Pressman called for Fox to retract the “false and defamatory” comments, calling them “deeply flawed and erroneous.”

Pressman wrote that the segment "sparked a torrent of republications and copycat false charges."

"Fox News has a grave responsibility to the truth, "he wrote. "The segment was not true. It has now been repeated by some of the most powerful people in the world."

"It is causing great pain," he added. "We ask you to retract the coverage, correct the record, and publish the truth."

Fox doesn’t plan on retraction:

"As a guest on Fox News, John Yoo was responsible for his own sentiments and he has subsequently done interviews to clarify what he meant," a Fox News spokesperson told CNN.

Yoo told CNN shortly after the segment that his comment was misunderstood.

“I wasn’t questioning Lt. Col. Vindman’s patriotism,” he said. “I have a lot of respect for people who wear the uniform.”

Yoo said that Ingraham’s comments seemed like they were about the Ukrainians, not Vindman.

“I really regret the choice of words,” he said, adding that Vindman “did the right thing” by reporting his concerns about Trump’s call to superiors.

 

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