Saturday, June 10, 2017

DOJ Won't Prosecute VA Execs Accused Of Lying To Congress | The Daily Caller

DOJ Won't Prosecute VA Execs Accused Of Lying To Congress | The Daily Caller:
"The House Committee on Veterans Affairs asked the DOJ for a perjury investigation in 2016, as the committee believed executives were misleading lawmakers to cover up exploding costs for the facility under construction, but the DOJ maintains there is not enough evidence to move forward with prosecution, the Associated Press reports.
Lawmakers wanted the DOJ to look into Glenn
Haggstrom and Stella Fiortes, specifically.
At the time, Haggstrom served as principal executive director of the Office of Acquisition, Logistics and Construction (OALC) and Fiortes worked as director of the VA’s Office of Construction and Facilities Management.
Haggstrom was well aware the Aurora hospital would balloon in cost, but elected to keep that information from Congress in 2013 and 2014, according to the VA inspector general.
The report blamed the cost on mismanagement, inexperience and bad decision-making.
“I think that there is clear evidence that they intentionally misled Congress,” he said.
What this decision now means is that not a single person has been fired or charged in connection with cost overruns at the Aurora VA hospital under construction in Colorado.
The total costs involved have skyrocketed to $1.7 billion, which is nearly three times as much as the original estimate..."

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