{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://vindman.house.gov/2025/11/22/trumps-retribution-campaign-silence-intimidate-vindman-for-speaking-the-truth/", "Trump\u2019s Retribution Campaign: Silence & Intimidate Vindman for Speaking the Truth", "2025-11-22", "2025", "2025-11", "Democrat", "House", "VA", "Eugene Simon Vindman", "V000138", "vindman.house.gov", "vindman", "https://vindman.house.gov/category/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Congressman Eugene Vindman (Va.-07) today released the following statement after President Trump and Secretary Hegseth sent a letter to the U.S. House Ethics Committee, Oversight Committee, and Armed Services Committee full of baseless innuendos, half-truths and false accusations.\n\nThis letter was sent just one day after Vindman spoke on the floor of the U.S. House demanding the release of a call transcript between President Trump and the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salaman.\n\nVindman said, \u201cUnlike the President, I have nothing to hide. Donald Trump and his lackeys are working overtime to weaponize the government against his political opponents.\n\n\u201cThis week, I demanded the release of a 2019 phone call transcript between President Trump and MBS. This obviously touched a nerve. The very next day, they spew lies to silence and intimidate me. It\u2019s not going to work.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll save President Trump and Secretary Hegseth some time: I never took a dime from a Ukrainian citizen or government entity, directly or indirectly. I followed the law and properly complied with all relevant regulations.\n\n\u201cThis is not the first time the president has attacked me, and it won\u2019t be the last.\n\n\u201cBut let\u2019s be clear about what he\u2019s trying so hard to distract from: his disturbing phone call with the Saudi Crown Prince after the murder of journalist and Virginia resident Jamal Khashoggi.\n\n\u201cI have one message to Virginians and Americans: I never back down from a fight. Not now, not ever.\u201d\n\nBACKGROUND\n\nOn Tuesday, November 18, Vindmanspoke on the floor of the U.S. House to demand President Trump release transcript of 2019 call with Mohammed bin Salman. Following Khashoggi\u2019s murder in 2018, Vindman served on NSC staff in the first Trump Administration andreviewed a phone call that he believes would be of interest to both the Khashoggi family and the American people \u2014 especially given Trump\u2019s disturbing defense of the Saudi Crown Prince in the Oval Office on Tuesday.\n\nOn Thursday, November 21, Vindmanled a group of 37 U.S. House lawmakers in sending a letter to President Donald Trump calling for the immediate release of the transcript of a 2019 phone call between President Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.\n\nOn Friday, November 22, Vindmanhosted Hanan Elatr Khashoggi \u2014 the wife of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi \u2014 on Capitol Hill to amplify her story and urge President Trump to release the transcript of his 2019 call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.\n\nFurther calling out the incompetence of Trump and his Administration, Vindman questioned Secretary Hegseth during the budget oversight hearing for the House Armed Services Committee. Vindman repeated his call for Hegseth to resign.\n\nIn the wake of Signalgate, Vindman was among the first lawmakersto call for Hegseth to resign.\n\nBefore being sworn in as a Member of Congress, Vindman divested from Trident Support, LLC. He never received payment from the government of Ukraine or any Ukrainian citizen or entity as part of this venture \u2014 or in any other capacity.\n\nThe Trump administration has also attempted to intimidate and silence other Democratic lawmakers such as Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Representatives Robert Garcia (D-Calif.-42), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.-15), and LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.-10).\n\nThis week, Trump called for the execution of Members of Congress who have restated military law including Senators Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Representatives Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.-17) , Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.-02), Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.-06), and Jason Crow (D-Colo.-06).\n\nClick here to view the document sent by the Department of Defense to the aforementioned U.S. House Committees which is full of lies about Vindman and just another example of retribution from Trump for seeking the truth.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://vindman.house.gov/2025/11/22/trumps-retribution-campaign-silence-intimidate-vindman-for-speaking-the-truth/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.261820947751403, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}