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The GAO investigation comes after an August ProPublica article raised questions about three people with links to Mar-a-Lago, Marvel Entertainment's president, Ike Perlmutter, Dr. Bruce Moskowitz from the Palm Beach area and lawyer Marc Sherman – all private citizens without official government. roles – and whether they affected ministry decisions.
The group of three, led by Perlmutter, was very open about the fact that they had been "anointed by the president and had all his support for influencing the politics of the VA" although they did not want to influence the VA policy. have never been appointed or settled as formal advisors, CNN has told the time.
CNN asked Perlmutter, Moskowitz and Sherman to comment on ProPublica's report, but they have not yet responded. The three men told ProPublica in a statement in August that they "offered our help and advice on a voluntary basis, without getting anything in return."
"While we were always willing to share our thoughts, we neither elaborated nor implemented any policy, nor any authority over agencies' decisions, nor ordered government officials to take action," the statement said. .
Veterans Affairs spokesperson Curt Cashour responded to CNN's request in August. He did not address the details regarding the three men but said in a statement that the department appreciated the "expert advice both internally and externally from the AV, looking for better ways to serve the heroes of our nation. "
"This wide range of contributions from internal and external VA people has helped us tremendously over the past 18 months – a period that has undoubtedly been the most productive VA in decades," the statement said.
After the story, Warren and Democrat Senator Brian Schatz from Hawaii asked GAO to investigate the matter. The agency announced in a letter its intention to do so in several months when it would have the necessary human resources.
It is not uncommon for the GAO, a congressional oversight body, to address the issues raised by senators.
The trio's influence within the Department of Veterans Affairs has caused "frustration and confusion … for career public servants who have to work outside the boundaries of what we know to be right," CNN told CNN a former departmental official. "We tried on the government side to keep things right, but senior VA officials were pushing to meet these external demands."
The former head of the Department of Veterans Affairs said that in the summer of 2017, some members of the organization were reprimanded for openly discussing Perlmutter's involvement. Former Secretary David Shulkin was among those who had advised staff to remain silent about the fact that the Marvel tycoon was so closely associated with the agency under the auspices of the protection of his privacy ", had previously reported CNN.
The Inspector General of Veterans Affairs has dismissed lawmakers' inquiries while a private trial on this subject is ongoing.
But the GAO agreed to conduct the investigation, which comes as the Democrats plan to step up their investigations into the Trump administration with their new majority in the House in January. Democrats on the House Veterans Affairs Committee have already made it clear that the issue was one they were planning to address.
The committee's representative, Democratic Representative Tim Walz of Minnesota, has been asking for answers to this problem since August. On August 8, he asked Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie to give the committee "all communications between VA officials and Ike Perlmutter, Bruce Moskowitz and Marc Sherman, as well as travel records to and from from Mar-a-Lago. "
In October, Walz again sent a letter demanding answers and accusing the VA of obstructing the issue.
"VA's refusal to cooperate with this investigation is absolutely unacceptable," Walz said. "When the history of VA's leaders in Mar-a-Lago began, my office immediately made contact with VA to ask him for information about the influence of the three individuals on the Since then, we have received nothing from VA except an apology. "
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