The Department of Veterans Affairs lied about punishing a man accused of sexually abusing veterans under his care, according to a lawmaker who learned that the employee was allowed to retire and keep his federal benefits.
“Unfortunately, VA’s dishonesty on this subject is not at all surprising, as it’s just the latest in a long line of examples in which the department has not told the truth regarding accountability among its employees,” House Veterans Affairs Committee chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., told the Washington Examiner.
Miller was reacting to news that the department allowed a VA employee to retire after he was accused of sexually abusing veterans at a facility in Leavenworth, Kansas. “I’m angry right now,” one of the VA employee’s accusers told 41 Action News, which reported on the retirement. “He is going to be collecting thousands of dollars, taxpayer dollars, our dollars, and he’s getting this money for sitting in jail and the rest of us are suffering for what he’s done.”
VA Secretary Robert McDonald told Congress that the employee resigned before department leadership finished its investigation. “If somebody resigns, they’re no longer an employee,” McDonald said.
But the alleged abuser applied for retirement in 2014, as the local media outlet reported. “Whether it’s Secretary McDonald’s numerous false claims about VA discipline or President Obama’s disturbing attempt to mislead a veteran’s widow about VA scandal-related firings, it’s clear the Obama administration is intent on misleading the public about the extent of VA’s problems and its progress in solving them,” Miller said.
Miller, who is retiring from Congress, said the episode shows the need for GOP nominee Donald Trump to win in November. “The duplicity that permeates VA will never be fixed with a corrupt liar like Hillary Clinton in the White House, that’s why we need Donald Trump as our next president,” he said.
