Politico reports:

Republican leaders are stepping up to defend Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman against vicious attacks from President Donald Trump’s allies.

Republicans may quibble with the substance of Vindman’s testimony as they try to protect Trump from the fast-moving impeachment inquiry. But congressional GOP leaders say it’s out of bounds to question Vindman’s patriotism and allegiance to the United States, as some conservative pundits did on Monday night.

Several top Republicans on Tuesday made emphatic statements in support of Vindman, a National Security Council official who heard Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian president and testified that it was improper for Trump to demand an investigation into Joe Biden and represented a threat to U.S. national security.

“That guy’s a Purple Heart. I think it would be a mistake to attack his credibility,” said South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican, in an interview. “You can obviously take issue with the substance and there are different interpretations about all that stuff. But I wouldn’t go after him personally. He’s a patriot.”

“I’m not going to question the patriotism of any of the people who come forward,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), though he declined to comment “on the merit of what’s going forward” or Vindman’s suggestion that he was concerned Trump’s actions had undermined national security.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), one of the most hawkish Republicans in the House and a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said it would be “shameful” to question Vindman’s loyalty or patriotism to the country. [Continue reading…]