When it was announced that U.S. Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman would testify before the House Intelligence Committee regarding the Trump administration’s conduct toward Ukraine, right-wing media’s first response was to question Vindman’s patriotism.

That line of attack did not go well.

Their second response was to call Vindman’s testimony wholly irrelevant. Over and over again, Fox News personalities said that Vindman’s testimony was not necessary given that the White House had previously released a “transcript” (better described as a summary) of President Donald Trump’s July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

This RedState piece is a good example of the narrative, arguing: “What Vindman believes is wholly irrelevant. What he reports is irrelevant, because again, we have the transcript. … What exactly is Vindman supposed to be adding here except his own opinion?”

This argument, like many other pro-Trump impeachment talking points, has not worked well either. Last night, The New York Times reported and The Wall Street Journal later confirmed that Vindman testified that the Trump White House, over his objections, omitted some crucial parts of the call in the released transcript.