It was recently discovered by The Daily Caller that the Department of Veterans Affairs had fired the director of the VA hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana. According to them, the former director is Toby Mathew and he was terminated “’based on charges related to general misconduct, and failure to follow policy and provide effective oversight of the Center’s credentialing and privileging program.’” So far none of the Big Three Networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) have cared to report the development.
But on Tuesday evening, Fox News’ Anchor Bret Baier talked about the case in a news brief on Special Report. “Toby Mathew was accused of refusing to buy essentials like vital signs machines, linens, and mattresses while spending millions on furniture, TV and solar panels,” he announced. “He’s also blamed for covering up a secret waiting list.”
Baier also noted that “Mathew is the highest profile VA firing since the Secretary Eric Shinseki left in May of 2014.” Shinseki was President Obama’s first Veterans Affairs secretary who was appointed on January 20, 2009. He left amid the scandal of a massive wait-list being discovered at the VA hospital in Phoenix, Arizona.
Fox News also noted that “Last week, President Trump signed an executive order creating an office within the VA to make it easier to fire bad employees.” “Trump also fired two employees in the Caribbean on his second day in office,” wrote Fox News’ Tori Richards.
As if such conditions weren’t horrendous enough:
Next came the story of social worker Shea Wilkes, who discovered a secret wait-list in 2013 that had 2,700 names, including 37 people who had died awaiting care. He pushed the VA inspector general to investigate, but instead the agency made Wilkes the target of a criminal investigation that lasted a year. It ended only after the Office of Special Counsel became involved. Mathew, who was director during that time, denied that a wait-list existed.
Mathew also had a history of abusing his staff.
This isn’t the first time the nets have overlooked a damaging report about the Department of Veterans Affairs. Around the time of Mathew’s firing, CBS and NBC ignored a report that showed “dangerous conditions” at the Washington, D.C. VA hospital. Although, CBS has been following the story of a veteran struggling to get prosthetic legs from the VA.
Transcript below:
FNC
Special Report
May 2, 2017
6:07:05 PM EasternBRET BAIER: The director of the veterans’ hospital and Shreveport, Louisiana, has been fired. Toby Mathew was accused of refusing to buy essentials like vital signs machines, linens, and mattresses while spending millions on furniture, TV and solar panels. He’s also blamed for covering up a secret waiting list. Mathew is the highest profile VA firing since the Secretary Eric Shinseki left in May of 2014.
