New claims made against VA nominee
WASHINGTON — Dr. Ronny Jackson, the White House physician nominated to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, provided “a large supply” of Percocet, a prescription opioid, to a White House military office staff member, throwing his own medical staff “into a panic” when the medical unit could not account for the missing drugs, according to a summary compiled by the Democratic staff of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
A nurse on his staff said Jackson had written himself prescriptions, and when caught, he asked a physician assistant to provide the medication. And at a Secret Service going away party, the doctor got intoxicated and “wrecked a government vehicle,” according to the summary.
The two-page document fleshes out three categories of accusations — prescription drug misuse, hostile work environment and drunkenness — that threaten to derail President Donald Trump’s nominee. It provides details based on the testimony of 23 current and former colleagues of Jackson, many of whom are still in the military, who have spoken with the committee staff.
The new details came as White House officials on Wednesday ratcheted up their public defense of Jackson, calling charges of workplace misconduct leveled against him “outrageous.”
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, told reporters earlier Wednesday afternoon that Jackson had been the subject of at least four background investigations during his time at the White House. None, she said, had turned up concern.
“None of those things have come up in the four separate background investigations that have taken place,” she said, referring to the recent allegations. “There’s been no area of concern that was raised for Dr. Jackson specifically.”
But when pressed, Sanders said she could not comment on the credibility of specific charges.
“These are new,” she said. “I can only speak to some of the personal accounts that those of us have, as well as the records that we have that are substantiated through a very detailed and thorough background investigation process.”
The document prepared by the committee’s Democratic staff paints a picture of a medical office that was casual with the distribution of drugs but terrorized by a mercurial boss.