President Barack Obama’s administration does not seem to be able to stop the constant stream of revelations regarding corruption and mismanagement in the federal government on his watch. To be fair, some of the issues derive from a culture of entitlement and lack of accountability that predates his inauguration, but as chief executive, Obama is responsible for what happens on his watch. One of the best examples of this is the VA healthcare scandal. This president was informed over five years ago of the troubles in the VA, but did nothing, making it clear that the responsibility for the current issues, whatever their origin, rests now with the Oval Office. Now, recent testimony from a VA whistle-blower before Congress alleging the illegal destruction of documents indicates that the problems at the VA rise above incompetence and mismanagement by government workers to criminality, and former Judge Andrew Napolitano says there’s only one way to deal with that: appoint a special prosecutor. From Fox News Insider: “This is the destruction of property that the statutes require the government to retain,” Napolitano said. “It’s a criminal event. The level of criminality depends upon what the destroyer knew at time he destroyed it or ordered it destroyed. Did they know there was an (VA) Inspector General investigation coming? If so … it’s obstruction of justice, which can be 20 years for the person who ordered it.” Napolitano pointed out that the issues with the VA cut both ways and not only has the culture of government harmed veterans, it’s also given some benefits to which they haven’t been entitled. “This is a quintessential mess,” stated Napolitano. “What this shows is that government is institutionally unequipped and ill-equipped to manage healthcare.” “We have an indifferent and arrogant president who simply doesn’t care. We have an attorney general who knows he’s bulletproof. These people are not going to investigate their own. They’re just going to sweep it under the rug and lay it in the lap of whoever succeeds Barack Obama two-and-a-half years from now.” Appointing a special prosecutor–the responsibility of the attorney general–is a serious step, but credible revelations of criminality call for just such a person to conduct an independent investigation of the VA scandal. Unfortunately, neither President Obama nor Attorney General Eric Holder have demonstrated any proclivity towards seriousness when it comes to investigating the scandals so common to this administration. If Holder refuses to do what appears to be his clear duty in this case, Congress should immediately institute impeachment proceedings against him. The chance of conviction by a Democrat-controlled Senate is low, but the hearings would plainly put the case for impeachment before the American people and pressure the Obama administration to take action against the culture of corruption in Washington.
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 18:31:39 +0000
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