Richard Griffin, VA OIG steps down
Bobo sends us a link to the Military Times which reports that Richard Griffin, the Inspector General of the Veterans’ Affairs Department has announced that he he is resigning. I wonder who will notice that he’s gone. Griffin’s job was to uncover fraud waste and abuse in the department, but the media and whistleblowers have been doing that job for him.
Griffin has faced harsh words from critics in recent years for not doing enough to hold VA leadership accountable for problems regarding patient wait times, overprescribing by physicians, and medical records manipulation.
On Monday, a group called VA Truth Tellers blasted Griffin for a “pattern of whitewashing and deceit” and called for his resignation. Several lawmakers have also publicly berated the office in recent months for working too closely with VA officials instead of publicly exposing potential wrongdoing.
Our buddy, Concerned Veterans for America’s Pete Hegseth had some harsh words, too;
“CVA has been calling for the removal of Richard Griffin for over eight months, and his departure is long overdue. While acting as IG, Griffin diminished the effectiveness and trustworthiness of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) by whitewashing the deaths of veterans at the Phoenix VA, withholding documents from members of Congress, and not publicly releasing IG reports that document misconduct within the VA. His politicization and mismanagement of the OIG has inhibited the ability of the office to properly uncover the true extent of misconduct throughout the VA in the aftermath of the VA wait list scandal. This is one of the reasons why just yesterday a group of VA whistleblowers called for his removal.
“CVA urges the White House to immediately nominate a permanent VA IG – something that the troubled Department has lacked for over 18 months. An independent and effective Office of Inspector General is essential to fixing the VA’s toxic culture and the future of VA reform efforts.”
Griffin has been in the job for only eighteen months. His temporary replacement, Linda Halloway has worked in the agency for 23 years, so we can expect equally unproductive and uninspired performance from her in Griffin’s wake.
Category: Veterans' Affairs Department
Good riddance.
IMO the VA desperately needs to select from outside when making a permanent hire for this position.
Between employees covering up incompetence and posers and fraudsters defauding it there aren’t enough hangmen or enough rope to fix things anytime quick.
Doesn’t need to be quick. Just needs to be sure.
Kill 99% of the VA posers, keep the remaining 1% scared straight.
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss….
Still think that a half-dozen randomly selected veterans with yellow legal pads and stubby pencils could solve most of the problems at the VA in an afternoon, especially if given the authority to fire some folks.
Let the VSO’s submit recomendations for the position of OIG not the bureaucrats and politicians
Griffin was previously Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security. He was forced to resign in the wake of the Blackwater Nisour Square shootings. He now seems to be making a habit of failure.
Now he can land some corporate Board seats and do some of his failing in the private sector.
I do not know.
His reputation might be damaged in some circles.
Well, according to the military Times article, he’s retiring after 43 years with the feds. Just a guess, but when someone ends up in a new position after more than 4o years, he probably doesn’t much give a shit. And his replacement? She has 30 years in, so I’m guessing that her candle is out, too.
Yep. Looks like he was in the Secret Service from 1971 to 1997, then did his first stint as VA IG from 1997-2005. He went to State in 2005, but resigned in 2007. He went back to work as a senior adviser to the HUD IG in 2008, then returned to the VA as Deputy IG and later acting IG.
Maybe he should have stayed at the Secret Service. His last gig there seems to have been as Assistant Director for Protective Operations before he did his first stint as VA IG.
Of course, based on some of the things I’ve read about the Clintoon White House he may well have been looking for any convenient excuse to leave. What I’ve read seems to indicate the Secret Service had issues with some of the goings on during the “Bill & Hill Show”.
This guy has been a joke for a long time.
Every time he found wrongdoing or suspected it, he was told to “put it at the bottom of the pile.
Later, clown.
And this slacker behavior is a surprise because…?
Fess up you fuck up! Move over so the next in line queen (in this case) of bullshit can crank her rhetoric machine to the tune of “It’s snowing in July!”
The list of horse shit continues to grow with each succeeding day from this entire administration…
They define the words stupidity and malfeasance down lower and lower as they try to desperately cover their tracks…
Word.
Oofa
http://www.c-span.org/person/?lindahalliday
I know and respect Mr. Griffin. I work with/for him for several years. He is not a person who would cover up fraud, waste, abuse or mismanagement. He is one of the finest leaders and managers I have ever seen. I know this post will offend some, for that I apologize.