Hoo boy. Ronny Jackson makes Andrew Cuomo sound like Mr. Rogers! The Department of Defense inspector general looked into allegations about the former White House physician who's now a Republican congressman, and it ain't pretty. Remember, what's in this report are only the incidents witnesses reported. Via CNN:
The Department of Defense inspector general has issued a scathing review of Rep. Ronny Jackson during his time serving as the top White House physician, concluding that he made "sexual and denigrating" comments about a female subordinate, violated the policy for drinking alcohol while on a presidential trip and took prescription-strength sleeping medication that prompted concerns from his colleagues about his ability to provide proper care.
The findings outlined in the report, which was obtained by CNN prior to its expected release on Wednesday, stem from a years-long IG investigation into Jackson -- who currently represents Texas in the House of Representatives and sits on the House Armed Services subcommittee overseeing military personnel -- that was launched in 2018 and examines allegations that date back to his time serving during the Obama and Trump administrations. Members of Congress were briefed on the IG report findings on Tuesday, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
[...] Still, the conclusions about Jackson's conduct are striking. Allegations about his explosive temper and creating a hostile work environment are consistent throughout his time in both the Obama and Trump administrations as an "overwhelming majority of witnesses (56) ... who worked with RDML Jackson from 2012 through 2018 told us they personally experienced, saw, or heard about him yelling, screaming, cursing, or belittling subordinates," the report says.
Not to mention the sexual harrassment! Seems like this rear admiral took his title seriously. Click on the link and read the rest. He sounds like a real peach, doesn't he? They interviewed 78 witnesses, and the ones making positive statements were a distinct minority. (Maybe they were the same people Vanity Fair reported got scripts on demand from their favorite Candyman?)
Jackson, of course, claims the report was politically motivated because he refused to "turn my back on President (Donald) Trump." He also rejected "any allegation that I consumed alcohol while on duty."
Yeah, well. When multiple co-workers report watching you drink and report that you later acted drunk and reeked of alcohol, you're usually consuming alcohol. There are a few relatively rare medical conditions that can make you appear drunk, but this isn't complicated since those witnesses did see him drink while on call.
By the way: I worked for several years as an investigator into medical insurance fraud, and impaired physicians were an all-too-common factor. (I could tell you stories, like the surgeon who walked out on a surgery to call his bookie. If you knew how difficult it was to get a bad doctor's medical license pulled for good, you wouldn't sleep at night. Yet for some reason, state boards would permanently pull licenses for impaired nurses at the drop of a hat. Hmm.)
Anyway, now we have evidence of yet another Republican congressman who doesn't take public service all that seriously. Good to know.
