Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman gained national prominence five years ago over his role in then-President Donald Trump's first impeachment trial.

Vindman drew attention again this week when he suggested that Trump and billionaire Elon Musk are being used by Russia to "sow discord." That led Musk to respond by accusing Vindman of having committed "treason."

Vindman claims Putin is using Musk and Trump for "dirty work"

According to Breitbart, Vindman leveled his allegations against the president-elect and his adviser during a recent television interview.

Alexander Vindman has accused Elon Musk of divulging state secrets to Vladimir Putin, and that the real reason he supports Trump is because Putin ordered him to do so. pic.twitter.com/WAFjL3RKue

— Catch Up (@CatchUpFeed) November 27, 2024

Vindman said that Russian President Vladimir Putin "has a type," stating, "He likes narcissists and egomaniacs that he knows that he knows as a case officer who could easily pander to manipulate to do his dirty work."

"We are under attack," the former military officer declared. "Russia has been using different levers, whether that's corruption networks, in this case it's influencers like Donald Trump, like Elon Musk, to really kind of sow discord."

Musk says Vindman is a traitor who works for "Ukrainian oligarchs"

"And it's particularly troubling with Elon Musk in this case, because Elon Musk has access to state secrets. He has top secret security clearance. It's possible that some of that is seeping through," Vindman suggested.

"Putin has been very effective in playing both Trump and Elon and he's been using the richest man in the world to do his bidding," Vindman went on to allege.

"In some cases that’s encouraging him, probably, to support Donald Trump. That’s not speculation. We see how far Elon has gone," the former soldier asserted.

Those remarks did not go over well with Musk, who leveled allegations of his own against Vindman in a social media post on Wednesday.

"Vindman is on the payroll of Ukrainian oligarchs and has committed treason against the United States, for which he will pay the appropriate penalty," Musk wrote.

Lawmaker: Vindman tried to profit from war

This is not the first time Vindman has been accused of nefarious behavior, as Fox News reported two years ago that Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn claimed he was "an "opportunist" who was seeking to profit from the war in Ukraine.

As evidence, Blackburn cited an article published by the conservative website Human Events, which cited documents showing that Vindman attempted to secure a $12 million contract for a company he heads.

They show that Vindman proposed that Ukraine his firm to "bring support closer to the front lines by providing a logistical midpoint from which equipment could be distributed."