President Obama on Monday formally nominated the first permanent inspector general of the Department of Veterans Affairs since the agency was engulfed in scandal last year.
Obama tapped Michael Missal of the heavyweight Washington law firm K&L Gates, where his practice has concentrated on “government enforcement, internal investigations and corporate governance matters,” according to his biography.
Acting Inspector General Richard Griffin resigned in July after being criticized for not doing enough to revamp the inspector general’s office. Since the multi-faceted scandal regarding veterans’ healthcare erupted in 2014, the inspector general’s office has been accused of targeting whistleblowers and stymying congressional investigators.
The massive agency has been without a permanent, congressionally approved inspector general since George Opfer resigned in late 2013.
“For far too long, the [office’s] lack of permanent leadership has compromised veteran care, fostered a culture of whistleblower retaliation within the agency and compromised the independence of the VA’s chief watchdog,” Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said in a statement.
“Whistleblowers deserve a fair shake from the OIG, and I hope this nominee will usher in a new era of openness, transparency and accountability for veterans,” he stated.
Wisconsin has been one of many states that became victims of the ongoing scandal. A veteran died of an overdose at the VA’s Tomah, Wis., facility amid whistleblower complaints about medical staff’s over-reliance on prescription painkillers.
Missal was a key player in the WorldCom bankruptcy proceeding. He also led an independent panel that reviewed a flawed “60 Minutes” story about President George W. Bush’s time in the Texas Air National Guard, and helped the Senate ethics panel investigate former Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., who resigned in scandal.
