Arlington, Va. – Following the House Committee on Veterans Affairs hearing to examine allegations of VA officials tampering with the Office of Inspector General’s report on the Phoenix VA Health System, Concerned Veterans for America CEO Pete Hegseth released the following statement:
“Today’s House VA Committee hearing, combined with this morning’s exclusive CBS News report based on whistleblower accounts from inside VA headquarters, confirms our worst suspicions about a VA that is now engaged in a full-blown cover-up. The VA headquarters employee turned whistleblower acknowledged that pressure from unnamed senior VA officials caused Inspector General Richard Griffin to add last-minute language that watered down the final report and sought to cover up malfeasance at the Phoenix VA that resulted in veterans’ deaths.
“If Secretary McDonald was ever looking for a clear-cut case to exercise the newly granted firing powers this bipartisan Congress gave him, this is it. Chairman Miller and the House VA Committee are right to question the undue political influence that was brought to bear in this matter and pursue the identity of the person or persons responsible for whitewashing and then leaking what was supposedly an independent report. Once they are identified by the committee, Secretary McDonald should move to fire them immediately. Anything short of that sends the message that the VA is continuing to put the protection of its own employees over serving veterans.”
# # #
To schedule a TV interview with Pete Hegseth, CEO of CVA, or other CVA experts, please email booking@guestbooker.com. For other media inquiries, contact Emily Laird at 571.302.0973 or email elaird@cv4a.org.
Concerned Veterans for America is a non-partisan, non-profit, 501(c)(4) organization that advocates for policies that will preserve the freedom and liberty we and our families so proudly fought and sacrificed to defend.