The sort of embellishments NBC News anchor Brian Williams made to his experiences in war zones that led to his unpaid suspension certainly aren’t limited to him alone, and we can expect more and more public figures to go under the microscope in the coming weeks.
We learned long ago not to take politicians at their word, but as Huffington Post senior military correspondent David Wood reported Monday, the contagion of “false memory syndrome” from which Williams might “suffer” has been found as far up as the president’s cabinet.
VA Secretary McDonald told me he really didn't serve in the special forces as he'd claimed. http://t.co/y9cDP50vZP
— David Wood (@woodwriter) February 24, 2015
[Robert] McDonald, a retired corporate executive who took over the VA last June as the agency was sinking in scandal, made the claim in late January as he was touring a rundown Los Angeles neighborhood during a nationwide count of homeless veterans. He was accompanied by a CBS-TV news crew, which recorded an exchange between McDonald and a homeless man who told McDonald he had served in special forces.
“Special forces? What years? I was in special forces!” McDonald told the homeless man. That exchange was broadcast in a Jan. 30 CBS News story about the VA’s efforts to find and house homeless veterans.
In fact, McDonald never served in special forces.
…
“I have no excuse,” McDonald told The Huffington Post, when contacted to explain his claim. “I was not in special forces.”
.@woodwriter VERY Disappointing!!
— Jason T Strickland ?? (@J_T_Strickland) February 24, 2015
@woodwriter @dandcaldwell What??
— Allan Sharkey (@SharkeyAllan) February 24, 2015
@woodwriter @dandcaldwell I watched the video with audio, hopefully the president is looking for a new sec for the VA, this is awful news.
— Allan Sharkey (@SharkeyAllan) February 24, 2015
https://twitter.com/JustinCap_/status/570024853920735232
Spoke with Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald today on how we can improve the VA pic.twitter.com/oGdVBpO2eX
— Bill Cassidy, M.D. (@BillCassidy) February 24, 2015
Find someone else to head the agency?
Don't say you did things you didn't do. Easy. — VA Sec. Robert McDonald Falsely Claimed He Served In Special Forces http://t.co/o0qL70liup
— "It's chaos. Be kind." — Michelle McNamara (@beth4158) February 24, 2015
Time to reset the "days since there was a problem with the VA director" sign to zero.
http://t.co/S3usW8CCxr— Philip Bump (@pbump) February 24, 2015
What’s the cure for this epidemic?
Hey everybody,
Pro-tip: Don't make shit up — http://t.co/z2lv7Fx594— Nolan Hicks (@ndhapple) February 24, 2015
Folks, it's simple: Just stop lying about war stuff. http://t.co/QbNBIEfFDo
— John Scalzi (@scalzi) February 24, 2015
https://twitter.com/instapundit/status/570030036067217409
@instapundit I know! I was there, remember?
— John Scalzi (@scalzi) February 24, 2015
https://twitter.com/instapundit/status/570031455725879297
@instapundit They can't know what it was like. They just can't.
No, seriously, man, don't tell them. You'll mess with my thing, here.— John Scalzi (@scalzi) February 24, 2015
https://twitter.com/instapundit/status/570032443551551488
@scalzi maybe he meant the other kind of "special"…
— C.D. (@SeaDragons) February 24, 2015
@scalzi maybe it was the "very special" forces
— Ethan Henry (@eghenry) February 24, 2015
It has been a very special day for Secretary McDonald, whose confession to the Huffington Post was preceded Monday by a big fat “False” from PolitiFact regarding the claim made on “Meet the Press” that 60 employees had been fired for manipulating wait times.
#Veterans Affairs Secretary says he's fired 60 people who manipulated wait-times. False. http://t.co/uaLUYBGT8l pic.twitter.com/mzBdYpt0hm
— PolitiFact (@PolitiFact) February 23, 2015
“As of mid February,” PolitiFact wrote, “14 employees had been ousted in one way or another due to the scandal, with another five directors or officers removed as well. Other employees were disciplined without being terminated. Still, the number of terminated employees is well below McDonald’s stated number.”
What are the chances of McDonald joining that number of terminated employees?
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