Only Tammy Duckworth could make cutting POW/MIA scholarships the second-most shocking story within a matter of hours regarding her veterans record.
WLS-AM News reports that whistleblower Germaine Clarno issued fresh, scathing criticism of Duckworth as federal investigators found that the VA OIG also failed to properly investigate claims of wrongdoing at the Hines VA:
Regarding Duckworth, who is now running for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, [whistleblower Germaine Clarno] said, “Well, you know that’s the frustration. I went to her because I am one of her constituents. I went to her numerous times, emailed many times, trying to elicit her help on what was going on at Hines. I never felt that she wanted to hear exactly what was going on, and I don’t know why.”
Clarno also said of Duckworth, ” You know, we had the facts, we had the data, Doctor Nee and I met with her back, last fall, so I brought Dr. Nee and we had piles of evidence to share with her. It was disheartening when we were at the meeting and we were talking about the O-I-G report that was done in cardiology and she had not read the report. So it was really upsetting….. I really thought going to Tammy Duckworth, that she would be the one who would stand up and say ‘this has gotta stop’.”
Accusations that Duckworth merely used her VA post "as leverage for her political career" help shed light as to why the Rod Blagojevich appointee is so intent on allegedly silencing whistleblowers: she has a political career to protect.
FLASHBACK:
-
Crain’s Chicago Business, 3/3/16: "Duckworth used vets’ post to build political career: Ex-deputy"
- NBC Chicago, 3/4/16: "Duckworth Accused of Using VA Position to Advance Political Career"
As a constituent of Illinois’ 8th district, Germaine Clarno already knew the consequences of Tammy Duckworth’s ineffectiveness.
As a VA whistleblower, Germaine Clarno now knows all too well the consequences of Tammy Duckworth’s inaction.
Read the latest breaking development in Tammy Duckworth’s VA scandal:
U.S. Investigators criticize Veterans Affairs over scandal
WLS-AM News
By John Dempsey
March 7, 2016
Federal investigators have found that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Inspector General failed to properly investigate claims of wrongdoing by the V-A, concerning allegations of delayed care to veterans that were made in 2014.
U.S. Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner wrote to President Barack Obama and Congress on February 25th, that the Inspector General’s probe into the allegations was “deficient.”
Germaine Clarno, a Social Worker and Union Representative at Hines V-A hospital in west suburban Maywood, talked about the Special Counsel’s findings on “The Big John Howell Show” on WLS.
Clarno is a whistleblower who first alerted the public in 2014 that supervisors at the hospital were hiding delays in veterans getting their treatment.
She was asked during the radio interview if she now feels vindicated, saying “I feel vindicated, and I think other whistleblowers around the country do as well, because it’s something we’ve always been screaming about, that the O-I-G is not impartial. It’s the O-I-G, it’s the V-A inspecting itself, and as whistleblowers we’ve known that for a very long time.”
Clarno appeared on the program with Dr. Lisa Nee, a former cardiologist at Hines who, when she started working at the hospital in 2011, noticed several boxes of echo cardiogram tests on hundreds of veterans, which had still not been read.
“I mean these tests were ordered, ordered for a reason, the taxpayers pay it for the veterans and no one’s reading them. In any other private system that’s fraud, it’s against the law, and it’s punishable.”
Clarno also had criticism for U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, and Chicago area Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, the former head of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs.
She said of Durbin , “Well, all I got was delays from his staff. I had asked to meet with him personally one on one numerous times. I mean I have emails upon emails, my requests upon requests to meet with him personally to tell him about what’s going on at Hines. And I never was granted that opportunity.”
Regarding Duckworth, who is now running for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, Clarno said, “Well, you know that’s the frustration. I went to her because I am one of her constituents. I went to her numerous times, emailed many times, trying to elicit her help on what was going on at Hines. I never felt that she wanted to hear exactly what was going on, and I don’t know why.”
Clarno also said of Duckworth, ” You know, we had the facts, we had the data, Doctor Nee and I met with her back, last fall, so I brought Dr. Nee and we had piles of evidence to share with her. It was disheartening when we were at the meeting and we were talking about the O-I-G report that was done in cardiology and she had not read the report. So it was really upsetting….. I really thought going to Tammy Duckworth, that she would be the one who would stand up and say ‘this has gotta stop’.”
WLS has asked Durbin and Duckworth’s offices for replies to Clarno’s comments and is awaiting a response.
Incumbent Republican Senator Mark Kirk issued a statement on Clarno’s criticism of Duckworth, saying “The accounts of these courageous whistleblowers detail yet another chapter of Rep. Duckworth silencing critics to protect the bureaucracy, her own legacy, and her party.”