Blumenthal Statement On Allegations Of Wrongdoing, Whistleblower Retaliation By VA Medical Inspector

(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) released the following statement in response to a news report alleging that there has been widespread wrongdoing and whistleblower retaliation by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of the Medical Inspector:

“Punitive, retaliatory treatment of whistleblowers is another powerful reason for an outside investigation by DOJ. Reports of revenge against caregivers and other whistleblowers who dared to tell the truth about deadly delays and bureaucratic fraud should be powerfully persuasive to the administration that the culture of cover-up requires DOJ to investigate. These credible, compelling charges of whistleblower retaliation are as shocking as claims of cooking the books and covering it up, and only DOJ can restore trust.” 

Blumenthal is a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. He is also a cosponsor of the Increasing Medical Oversight in the Department of Veterans Affairs Act (S.2401), a bill to expand and codify the investigative purview of the VA Office of the Medical Inspector and to make its findings public for the first time.