Sen. Marsha Blackburn, of Tennessee, on Thursday questioned Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman's patriotism and deemed him "vindictive."By Friday, #marshablackburnistrash and #moscowmarsha were trending on Twitter.Vindman's attorney, David Pressman, called her attacks an act of "cowardice" while Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) deemed them repugnant.In return, Twitter users impugned Blackburn's morals and slammed her decision to disrespect a Purple Heart recipient.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.Sen. Marsha Blackburn on Thursday posted several incendiary tweets about Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, questioning his patriotism and labeling him "vindictive."Twitter exploded. By Friday morning, #marshablackburnistrash and #moscowmarsha were trending.The drama unfolded during President Donald Trump's impeachment trial when Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) painted a picture of Vindman as an "American patriot," and Blackburn vehemently ' and publicly ' disagreed.Adam Schiff is hailing Alexander Vindman as an American patriot. How patriotic is it to badmouth and ridicule our great nation in front of Russia, America's greatest enemy'' Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) January 23, 2020As the director of European Affairs for the White House National Security Council, Vindman was on Trump's July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. While testifying before the House, Vindman admitted that he was concerned by Trump's request for Ukraine to launch an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and decided to escalate what he'd heard.Ukraine was anticipating nearly $400 million in US aid to bolster its efforts to resist Russian advances in the region. On the now infamous call, Zelensky inquired about the funds, which the Eastern European country hadn't yet received, to which Trump replied by asking for a favor. This apparent "quid pro quo" is at the heart of the ongoing impeachment proceedings against Trump, which began when a whistleblower from within the US intelligence community filed a complaint alleging wrongdoing at the highest levels of the administration.On Twitter, Blackburn impugned Vindman by accusing him of feeding information to "his pal," the whistleblower.Alexander Vindman broke the chain of command and leaked the contents of the President's July 25th phone call to his pal, the 'whistleblower.' Over a policy dispute with the President!How is that not vindictive'' Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) January 23, 2020It makes sense that Alexander Vindman leaked the July 25th phone call to his friend (aka the 'whistleblower'). They both have lots in common:'Held the same NSC job'Liberals who worked under Obama'Wanted to take out Trump' Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) January 23, 2020Vindman's attorney, David Pressman, decried Blackburn's tweets in a statement to CNN, saying: "This difficult moment in our country calls for seriousness and seriousness of purpose. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman has sacrificed enormously for our country.""That a member of the Senate ' at a moment when the Senate is undertaking its most solemn responsibility ' would choose to take to Twitter to spread slander about a member of the military is testament to cowardice," he continued.People on Twitter took that argument up several notches.#MarshaBlackburnisTrash and #MoscowMarsha are trending. As a Tennessean, I could not have wished for a better start to my Friday. I feel so seen. pic.twitter.com/4225CB6iVF' Militant for Education (@kclatham22) January 24, 2020#MarshaBlackburnIsTrash That is all. Carry on.' FreddieBrabson (@freddiebrabson) January 24, 2020Remove @MarshaBlackburn from office. Her cynicism and lack of moral judgement is so grossly apparent. Reading a book while the impeachment trial is going on' Really'! And then when she opens her mouth, it is to slander a war hero'! JESUS #MarshaBlackburnIsTrash' Laz (@LUIS_2SIK) January 24, 2020#MoscowMarsha I don't know. HOW patriotic is it' pic.twitter.com/C6aTYDViOS' Enough's Enough (@DanaNcolorado) January 24, 2020#MarshaBlackburnIsTrash is just scoring points by slandering a United States Army Officer. She is not worthy to polish his shoes or brass. His actions and the rest of our Armed Forces provide you the freedom and security you & Trump are using to CASH IN $. A new low Marsha. https://t.co/zLezJYkgXG' Jess In Texas (@JessInTexas1) January 24, 2020I live in TN and I think Tennesseans are more concerned with losing rural hospitals and the outrageous cost of prescription medication than any of the things @MarshaBlackburn listed.' Sydney (@SquidneyFrankey) January 24, 2020On Friday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) added to the litany of criticism levied at Blackburn, telling The Hill her comments were "striking and repugnant.""It seems pretty striking and repugnant."@SenBlumenthal slammed Sen. Marsha Blackburn's tweet criticizing Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman. pic.twitter.com/jkAgQ9aSuL' The Hill (@thehill) January 24, 2020Representatives for Blackburn didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.Read more:House prosecutors detail how White House officials 'worked overtime' to cover up Trump's Ukraine scheme despite multiple reports of his misconductThe Army is prepared to move Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and his family to a safe location if necessaryTrump could be impeached and removed from office but still win reelection in 2020Join the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: People are still debating the pink or grey sneaker, 2 years after it went viral. Here's the real color explained.
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