Pentagon Investigation reveals Trump’s White House clinic improperly handed out narcotics,

Polds4OSU

Marshall
It’s hard to imagine the president’s in-house health clinic as a rogue operation, but that’s the picture a Pentagon probe paints about the facility during the Trump administration.

The findings are clear and damaging.

“We found that the White House Medical Unit provided a wide range of health care and pharmaceutical services to ineligible White House staff in violation of Federal law and regulation and DoD policy,” says a new report from the Defense Department’s inspector general. “Additionally, the White House Medical Unit dispensed prescription medications, including controlled substances, to ineligible White House staff.”


Many of those served by the unit should not have been.

The report paints a scathing picture of the military-run facility with 60 medical personnel, who are tasked with treating the president, the vice president and the White House staff.

It also provides new context to systemic problems in a clinic that made headlines when Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Tex.), who was Donald Trump’s personal doctor until 2018, was accused by almost two dozen colleagues of improper activities, including providing prescription drugs without proper paperwork — a habit that allegedly earned him the nickname “Candyman.” A 2021 Defense Department inspector general report later corroborated some of those claims, which Jackson denied and described as politically motivated.

Jackson’s office said he “had no association or involvement with the White House Medical Unit’s clinical delivery of care” during the period covered by the new Pentagon report, which does not mention him.


The new report includes pharmaceutical procedures from 2017 to 2019 and patient eligibility practices from 2018 to 2020. Neither the pharmacy nor the clinical operations were credentialed by an outside agency. During those periods, the unit served between nine and 30 patients each week. “However,” the inspectors wrote, “we discovered that an average of 6 to 20 of these patients per week” were not eligible for the care.

Of the numerous problems with the medical unit, one of the most disturbing is its cavalier approach toward narcotics, particularly when the nation is suffering from a devastating opioid addition crisis.

“All phases of the White House Medical Unit’s pharmacy operations had severe and systemic problems,” the inspectors found. It stocked four opioid pain medications: fentanyl, hydrocodone, morphine and oxycodone. But the pharmacy protocols were so poor that they “increased the risk for the diversion of controlled substances” to illicit use.


For example, controlled medications, including sleeping pill Ambien and stimulant Provigil, were dispensed “without verifying the patient’s identity.” A witness told investigators “Dr. [X] asked if I could hook up this person with some Provigil as a parting gift for leaving the White House … in the unit, it was authorized for us to do that kind of stuff.”

Notably, “the Military Health System senior leaders did not oversee the White House Medical Unit’s pharmacy operations,” according to the inspectors. Shoddy administration heightened dangers for “prescribing errors and inadequate medication management, increasing the risk to the health and safety of patients treated within the unit.”

White House medical officials argued to inspectors that the clinic doesn’t have a true pharmacy because of its size and the lack of a full-time pharmacist. But despite “a smaller number of pharmaceutical tasks,” the report said, “those tasks entail the full universe of pharmaceutical operations.”


Even clandestine surgery was available.

Aliases were used “to provide free specialty care and surgery to ineligible White House staff members at military medical treatment facilities,” according to the report. Former staffers told the inspectors that an ineligible White House employee received free elective surgery and that “the unit altered practices to cater to high‑ranking officials.”

One staffer said “we bent the rules to meet this very weird, strange culture that was there, and I think it was really to just impress people.”

The White House referred questions about the report to the Pentagon. The Trump presidential campaign, people affiliated with the Trump administration and Defense Department officials did not respond to requests for comment.

The Pentagon accepted all the inspector general’s recommendations to improve White House Medical Unit operations, including developing procedures to better manage medications and patient eligibility.


When asked about possible crimes related to the findings, a Pentagon spokeswoman responded like an FBI official, saying, “We do not confirm or deny criminal investigations.”

The investigation began in 2018, following complaints about “improper medical practices” by an unnamed senior military officer. That led to interviews with more than 120 officials and a review of more than 200 documents. Finally, almost six years later, the report was released this month after “a draft of this report was under review by the White House Military Office from May 2020 to July 2023,” during the Trump and Biden administrations, said Deputy Inspector General Michael J. Roark’s memorandum accompanying the report.

Good leadership was absent without leave. Medical unit leaders, who are not named in the report, were there, but they were part of the problem, causing more-diligent employees to flee.


“Senior leaders directed eligibility practices that did not comply with DoD guidance,” the report said. “Multiple former White House Medical Unit medical providers stated that they requested an early departure from the unit due to the unit’s practices.”

Reacting to the report’s “disturbing findings,” Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said, “I am concerned by the lapse in procedure within the military’s White House Medical Unit, and I concur with the OIG’s recommendations to prevent this from happening again.”
 
To be fair, they only got three years to do the investigation and three years to review the draft report. It must have been pretty high priority for the DOD to rush it through like that.
 
To be fair, they only got three years to do the investigation and three years to review the draft report. It must have been pretty high priority for the DOD to rush it through like that.
You are aware of the follow correct?? After this guy resigned there was no other inspector general for the Pentagon put into place until Dec 2022......so it was a vacant position for 2.5 years ..

Washington(CNN)A top internal watchdog at the Pentagon, Glenn Fine, submitted his resignation Tuesday, more than a month after President Donald Trump effectively removed him as chairman of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, a group of independent watchdogs tasked with overseeing $2 trillion in emergency coronavirus funding.

One Pentagon official told CNN that Glenn Fine, the Defense Department's principal deputy inspector general, was not told to resign and did so on his own accord. Still, Trump replaced Fine as the Pentagon's acting inspector general last month rather than allowing him to remain in the job until a nominee for the permanent role was confirmed, a move that was viewed as an effort to thwart his leadership of the coronavirus accountability review.

Fine's resignation takes effect June 1st, according to DOD IG spokesperson Dwrena Allen.
 
You are aware of the follow correct?? After this guy resigned there was no other inspector general for the Pentagon put into place until Dec 2022......so it was a vacant position for 2.5 years ..

Washington(CNN)A top internal watchdog at the Pentagon, Glenn Fine, submitted his resignation Tuesday, more than a month after President Donald Trump effectively removed him as chairman of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, a group of independent watchdogs tasked with overseeing $2 trillion in emergency coronavirus funding.

One Pentagon official told CNN that Glenn Fine, the Defense Department's principal deputy inspector general, was not told to resign and did so on his own accord. Still, Trump replaced Fine as the Pentagon's acting inspector general last month rather than allowing him to remain in the job until a nominee for the permanent role was confirmed, a move that was viewed as an effort to thwart his leadership of the coronavirus accountability review.

Fine's resignation takes effect June 1st, according to DOD IG spokesperson Dwrena Allen.

I assumed it was Trump's fault, and you'd let me know how. That explains the three year investigation, perhaps - now how about the 3 year review of the report draft? Must have gotten sidetracked finding the owner of that cocaine. Well, not finding, really, but certainly pulling out all the stops in the never-ending search for justice. Well, maybe not all the stops, but some of the stops, anyway. A couple of them, probably.
 

wow​

Between 2017 and 2019, the White House Medical Unit spent an estimated $46,500 for brand name Ambien, which is 174 times more expensive than the generic equivalent.

Over the same three-year period, the unit also spent an estimated $98,000 for brand name Provigil, which is 55 times more expensive than the generic equivalent.

About 6,000 White House employees, contractors and government employees received “health care by proxy” at the White House clinics, according to the report.


By comparison, only about 60 patients were enrolled at the White House Medical Unit – which the report notes is intended to “cater to the needs” of only the “highest of Presidential appointees.”

White House pharmacy under Trump dished out Ambien, other controlled drugs to ineligible staffers:​


The White House pharmacy under the Trump administration flouted federal regulations by doling out prescription pills, including stimulants and sedatives, to ineligible staffers without keeping adequate records, according to a scathing government report released this month.

“Severe and systemic problems” were found in “all phases of the White House Medical Unit’s pharmacy operations,” the Department of Defense’s Office of the Inspector General found.


“Anything that took place at the White House Clinic was never written down, never recorded,” one witness interviewed for the DOD’s 80-page report said. “The only record that you ever had that a patient came in and got any sort of medication would have been if it was a controlled substance that we were required to document for the pharmacy.”

But even when dealing with controlled substances – drugs with potential for abuse and physical dependence – the White House Medical Unit wrote prescriptions that “often lacked the medical provider and patient information mandated by [Drug Enforcement Agency] policy.”


White House pharmacy under Trump dished out Ambien, other controlled drugs to ineligible staffers: report
White House pharmacy under Trump dished out Ambien, other controlled drugs to ineligible staffers: report© Provided by New York Post
“Severe and systemic problems” were found in “all phases of the White House Medical Unit’s pharmacy operations,” according to the government report. White House Medical Unit

White House pharmacy under Trump dished out Ambien, other controlled drugs to ineligible staffers: report

The White House Medical Unit often improperly filled out prescriptions for controlled drugs, such as Ambien and Provigil. White House Medical Unit
“The White House Medical Unit dispensed non‑emergency controlled medications, such as Ambien and Provigil, without verifying the patient’s identity,” the report notes, referring to the sedative used to treat insomnia and the stimulant prescribed for narcolepsy and sleep apnea, respectively.


A requisition form included in the inspector general’s report shows the White House pharmacy ordered these medications by the thousands, and routinely requested brand name drugs despite regulations requiring pharmacies to stock cheaper generic equivalents.

Between 2017 and 2019, the White House Medical Unit spent an estimated $46,500 for brand name Ambien, which is 174 times more expensive than the generic equivalent.

Over the same three-year period, the unit also spent an estimated $98,000 for brand name Provigil, which is 55 times more expensive than the generic equivalent.

The watchdog agency concluded that White House pharmacy staffers had little to no oversight, and that their prescribing practices put the health and safety of patients at risk.

White House pharmacy under Trump dished out Ambien, other controlled drugs to ineligible staffers: report
White House pharmacy under Trump dished out Ambien, other controlled drugs to ineligible staffers: report© Provided by New York Post
A witness told the DOD IG that aides to senior staffers would often come by to pick up their pills. The DoD OIG
One witness explained to investigators that part of their duties in “the President’s clinic” would be to pre-pack controlled drugs in zip-lock baggies ahead of overseas trips, which would routinely be picked up by aides to senior officials in violation of military guidance.


“So we would normally make these packets of Ambien and Provigil, and a lot of times they’d be in like five tablets in a zip‑lock bag,” the witness said. “And so traditionally, too, we would hand these out. . . . But a lot of times the senior staff would come by or their staff representatives . . . would come by the residence clinic to pick it up. And it was very much a, hey, I’m here to pick this up for Ms. X. And the expectation was we just go ahead and pass it out.”

Another witness described one instance in which drugs were given to a White House official as a “parting gift.”

“Dr. [X] asked if I could hook up this person with some Provigil as a parting gift for leaving the White House,” they said. “And at the time, the corpsmen and the medics, the enlisted corpsmen and the medics, [said] it was okay for us to dispense Provigil and Ambien without having a provider present.”

“I’m not sure if it was okay as far as, like, what’s medically allowed. But in the unit, it was authorized for us to do that kind of stuff,” the witness added.



The White House Medical Unit provided “free medical care” to far more patients that were eligible. REUTERS
The investigation found that the White House Medical Unit provided “free medical care to ineligible” White House Staff by instituting a “health care by proxy” practice, which included dispensing controlled drugs to ineligible staffers “in violation of Federal law and regulation and DoD policy.”


About 6,000 White House employees, contractors and government employees received “health care by proxy” at the White House clinics, according to the report.

By comparison, only about 60 patients were enrolled at the White House Medical Unit – which the report notes is intended to “cater to the needs” of only the “highest of Presidential appointees.”
 
Like it or not there is a need for a political class. Any person without government experience doesn’t know how the government operates or grasp traditions. A familiarity of bureaucratic practice and regulations is always helpful in avoiding legal entanglements. IMO
 
I assumed it was Trump's fault, and you'd let me know how. That explains the three year investigation, perhaps - now how about the 3 year review of the report draft? Must have gotten sidetracked finding the owner of that cocaine. Well, not finding, really, but certainly pulling out all the stops in the never-ending search for justice. Well, maybe not all the stops, but some of the stops, anyway. A couple of them, probably.
That's exactly what this is.....pres has a coked up son.....coke found in White House. Hey look over there the other guy's folks abused drugs.

Willing to bet the coke that didn't hurt anyone and isn't the first to get in the white house becomes a big deal if Trump gets back in on his revenge tour....... and the circus continues.
 
That's exactly what this is.....pres has a coked up son.....coke found in White House. Hey look over there the other guy's folks abused drugs.

Willing to bet the coke that didn't hurt anyone and isn't the first to get in the white house becomes a big deal if Trump gets back in on his revenge tour....... and the circus continues.
So we just ignore both and call it a day?

Or

Investigate and prosecute BOTH?

I'm having a hard time figuring out what you think the right thing to do is.
 
So we just ignore both and call it a day?

Or

Investigate and prosecute BOTH?

I'm having a hard time figuring out what you think the right thing to do is.
We should one or other.....but what this is more crap. They will push this based on poll numbers or revenge not the matter at hand in either case.
 
So we just ignore both and call it a day?

Or

Investigate and prosecute BOTH?

I'm having a hard time figuring out what you think the right thing to do is.
Every single time a republican is getting investigated they say it’s payback. They say this because this is the only way know how to act. They would be doing it so the other side has to be also. It’s like someone who cheats claiming their partner is cheating. They project themselves a lot. He’ll look at how many anti gay Republicans have been caught being gay.
 
We should one or other.....but what this is more crap. They will push this based on poll numbers or revenge not the matter at hand in either case.
This is a nonsense non-answer and you have no evidence whatsoever that this is "more crap" and not credible except your sense of victimhood as mentioned by Vakarian.
 
Like it or not there is a need for a political class. Any person without government experience doesn’t know how the government operates or grasp traditions. A familiarity of bureaucratic practice and regulations is always helpful in avoiding legal entanglements. IMO
The Founders never intended government service to be a career though. It was intended to be a burden that you did out of a need, not a desire for power.
 
I'm not a victim of anything. I'm tired of a completely ineffective government.
Which is it Donny....investigate and prosecute OR ignore?

It really sounds like you're in the ignore camp, but for whatever reason won't come out and say it.

You've already declared it "crap" without actually seeing any of the evidence.
 
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The Founders never intended government service to be a career though. It was intended to be a burden that you did out of a need, not a desire for power.
Well good luck promoting that idea today. My point was we don’t need people clueless of the levers of power in office, especially high office.
 
Which is it Donny....investigate and prosecute OR ignore?

It really sounds like you're in the ignore camp, but aren't man enough to come out and say it.

You've already declared it "crap" without actually seeing any of the evidence.
I do lean do nothing. I don't care if people working a gozillion hours a week are taking uppers and downers from the white house stash. I don't care if someone had a tiny baggy of coke in a bathroom. It's not like we do anything about it that works outside of the white house.....we sat on our hands while an opioid epidemic built and opened the border to largest source of illegal drug flow. If you can't figure out who did either in the white house than how does anything ever get solved....seems like "hey look over here" story to me. So yes ignore it.....we have so much bigger fish to fry.
 
I do lean do nothing. I don't care if people working a gozillion hours a week are taking uppers and downers from the white house stash. I don't care if someone had a tiny baggy of coke in a bathroom. It's not like we do anything about it that works outside of the white house.....we sat on our hands while an opioid epidemic built and opened the border to largest source of illegal drug flow. If you can't figure out who did either in the white house than how does anything ever get solved....seems like "hey look over here" story to me. So yes ignore it.....we have so much bigger fish to fry.
"Tiny bag of coke in the bathroom".

Got it. :rolleyes:
 
Well good luck promoting that idea today. My point was we don’t need people clueless of the levers of power in office, especially high office.
I shouldn't need luck to promote reality or the clearly made intentions by our Founders.

I contend the opposite point- we need less career politicians. Most of what goes on on The Hill, and the levers of power in office are curated by these career people. So instead of the Jr Senator from Oklahoma voting with his constituency, he's doing what the senior senators tell him to do, and trading favors as they maneuver the landscape. But regardless, there will always be knowledgeable people, those who do have csareers in government service (but arent elected). They still know how things work. That's why our elected representatives have staffers.

So i will continue voting against incumbents, I wish everyone would, then they wouldnt feel so comfortable doing whatever they want. Congress has an abysmal approval rating and has for years, and that's not changing until we start firing some of these mo84ye4r f7ckers.
 
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