Donald Trump’s former White House doctor, Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, has been nominated for a second star, despite the fact that he is still under investigation by the Defense Department Inspector General’s Office for overprescribing drugs and creating a hostile work environment.
Task & Purpose reports that Ronny Jackson was nominated by Donald Trump to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. This news came at the same time when Jackson hit by a barrage of scandals, which caused him to withdraw his nomination.
But despite the ongoing investigation, the White House has put Jackson up for a second star, circumventing a traditional promotion board, says an unnamed Navy official.
“Although promotion boards are typically used to recommend officers for presidential appointment to the grade of rear admiral, the Constitution does not require that a board be used. In this case, the president made the appointment to rear admiral (lower half) without the use of a promotion board recommendation. The White House nominated him for rear admiral upper half (2-star) and re-submitted the nomination to the 116th Congress in Jan. 2019.”
Dr. Ronny Jackson’s nomination was sent to the Senate Armed Services Committee on January 15, despite the fact that he is no longer the White House physician.
Trump nominates White House doctor Ronny Jackson for 2nd star, despite ongoing investigation https://t.co/r7E8M6Ss1z
— Jeff Schogol (@JeffSchogol) February 1, 2019
Bruce Anderson — the spokesman for the inspector general’s office — confirmed that the office is still looking at Dr. Jackson’s behavior and confirms that the investigation is still ongoing.
The Inquisitr reports that the White House knew about Dr. Jackson’s issues before he was nominated for the cabinet-level position. The tip came courtesy of Vice President Mike Pence’s doctor, who wrote a memo to explain that he believes that Jackson violated doctor-patient confidentiality with Pence’s wife, Karen.
Pence’s doctor says that after he confronted Dr. Jackson, the doctor then tried to intimidate him into keeping quiet. CNN reported that the conflict kicked off when Dr. Jackson reportedly intervened in the care of the second lady without being asked, thus violating her privacy.
Mike Pence’s doctor accused Jackson of overstepping his authority in a medical situation involving second lady, Karen Pence as well as concerns that he violated her federal privacy rights by briefing White House staff and disclosing details to other medical providers about Mrs. Pence’s condition.
It was Mrs. Pence’s idea to write a letter of complaint to the White House, to let them know that Jackson had been involved in questionable behavior, and she wanted the White House to be in the loop.
