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Isaac Arnsdorf @iarnsdorf
, 12 tweets, 6 min read Read on Twitter
NEW: I’ve got more documents showing how deeply involved the VA Shadow Rulers were in some of the agency’s most consequential issues. Here are some highlights...
propublica.org/article/va-sha…
The Mar-a-Lago trio reviewed a $10 billion government contract that the VA was negotiating to overhaul the agency’s electronic health records. Here’s my recent story on the turmoil in that program :
propublica.org/article/va-sha…
The VA had lots of other people review the contract too. But those people had relevant expertise.

One of these things is not like the others…
documentcloud.org/documents/5278…
One of the Shadow Rulers wanted the VA and @Apple to adapt his app. He put his son on a conference call with @tim_cook.
documentcloud.org/documents/5278…
The docs also show the Shadow Rulers editing a budget…
documentcloud.org/documents/5278…
...naming themselves to an “executive committee”...
documentcloud.org/documents/5278…
...weighing in on job candidates...
documentcloud.org/documents/5278…
...being treated as having decision-making authority...
documentcloud.org/documents/5278…
...rejecting input from VA officials…
documentcloud.org/documents/5278…
...criticizing the agency’s culture...
documentcloud.org/documents/5278…
The trio originally hit it off with @SecWilkie
(notice the redaction, before and after):
documentcloud.org/documents/5278…
But now, I’m told, the trio’s chief, Ike Perlmutter, is mad that Wilkie won’t take his calls.

Wilkie’s predecessor got fired after losing favor with the so-called Mar-a-Lago Crowd.

propublica.org/article/va-sha…
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More from @iarnsdorf see all

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NEW: Congress has pumped $19.4 billion since 2014 into private health care for veterans. Where has the money gone?
propublica.org/article/va-pri…
The Veterans Choice Program was supposed to give veterans a way around long waits in the VA. How did that work out? Wait times did not get better.
propublica.org/article/va-pri…
The winners have been 2 private firms that took almost $2 billion in fees. That’s ~24% of their total program expenses, which would exceed the federal cap on what most private insurance plans can spend on admin.
Read 7 tweets
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NEW: The Trump administration is planning to announce in the State of the Union a plan to shift more veterans’ health care to the private sector.
propublica.org/article/trump-…
The administration’s plan could cost ~$13.9B to $32.1B over 5 years, and send as many as 55% of veterans to private doctors, up from about 38% now.
propublica.org/article/trump-…
Those estimates could be low, since the costs are hard to predict.
propublica.org/article/trump-…
Read 7 tweets

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VA Was “Taken Advantage Of” by Paying Billions in Fees, Secretary Says

Officials vowed to improve the department’s private care program, but lawmakers voiced concerns about higher costs & worse health care for veterans.

He f**king let it happen!!!
propublica.org/article/va-sec…
Why is this some big surprise?

He knew all along & veterans like myself have been screaming about this for years.

He's coming clean because of the ProPublica investigative reporting on the VA.

They keep thinking they can get away with treating us poorly and are finally caught.
Is it taking advantage of the VA when they keep expanding the program?

No!

It's the Department of Veterans Affairs administration taking advantage of us.

For what?

So TriWest Healthcare Alliance and Health Net can make billions off our care.
Read 7 tweets
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NEW: We filed five lawsuits against four agencies for records about the Trump administration's family-separation policy: americanoversight.org/american-overs…
We're asking for a wide range of documents, including communications with congressional leaders, costs of implementing the policy, and information about detention facility conditions: americanoversight.org/american-overs…
The administration claimed to have ended its "zero tolerance" immigration policy in June, but @ProPublica reported that CBP was using loopholes to continue separating families: propublica.org/article/border…
Read 4 tweets
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GAO agrees to investigate Mar-a-Lago members' influence on VA stripes.com/gao-agrees-to-… #WHPDaily #IndivisibleTimes #AltGovDaily #AltGov #Indivisible #SVRAV
@ProPublica has this document repository about Mar-A-Lago members' influence on the VA documentcloud.org/public/search/… #WHPDaily #IndivisibleTimes #AltGovDaily #AltGov #Indivisible #SVRAV
Original Story: propublica.org/article/ike-pe…
Startpage Search on the VA's Shadow Rulers at Mar-A-Lago startpage.com/do/dsearch?que…
Read 10 tweets
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NEW: We and @VoteVets just sued the VA over a breathtakingly illegal scheme: empowering Mar-a-Lago members to steer Veterans Affairs policy from Trump’s golf club.

A thread explaining the case ⬇️ propublica.org/article/vetera…
@votevets We know Trump isn't fond of following the law. But secretly turning a ~$200 billion agency over to 3 unqualified Mar-a-Lago buddies who haven’t served in our military is a masterpiece of lawlessness that violates the Federal Advisory Committee Act. propublica.org/article/ike-pe…
@votevets Congress passed FACA in the early 1970s to formalize how outside advisers influence the president and federal agencies. It was meant to curb special interests' ability to covertly steer policymaking.
Read 13 tweets
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This @BrickU @Rentlogic ranking of the "best" landlords in Brooklyn is pretty interesting:
brickunderground.com/rent/best-broo…

Here is my @ProPublica expose on #3 on the list - Rabsky Group:
propublica.org/article/nyc-la…

And #6 on the list: Two Trees Management:
propublica.org/article/tenant…
There's more that goes into being a good/bad landlord than just running a clean building. Charging the legal rent is another important factor, though I admit that getting data on that is tough - here was my struggle:
propublica.org/article/delaye…
More of my reporting on #NYCRents laws and landlords who flout them is available here:
propublica.org/series/the-ren…
Read 3 tweets
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As Jeff Sessions was preparing to reshape DOJ and hire new federal prosecutors, he sought the advice of a longtime GOP donor who is not only not a lawyer, but also has a bribery and public corruption conviction propublica.org/article/elliot…
This is the same Jeff Sessions who, as Attorney General, is in charge of overseeing the bribery prosecution of donors he met with and wrote letters for as a senator motherjones.com/politics/2017/…
And Broidy, of course, is the same guy who has engaged in wide-ranging effort to use Trump administration access to help win defense work overseas nytimes.com/2018/03/25/us/…
Read 5 tweets

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