Exclusive — Blackburn Presses Biden VA Secretary for Accountability After Bombshell Report of Orgy and Sexual Misconduct at Veteran Hospital

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is publicly pressing outgoing President Joe Biden’s Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) Denis McDonough for answers and accountability after it surfaced earlier this month that investigators discovered widespread sexual misconduct at a Tennessee veterans’ hospital.

In early December, Breitbart News exclusively reported that investigators discovered a man who had sex with different coworkers at the Mountain Home VA medical center in Tennessee. Investigators also discovered that an orgy among a dozen of the staffers there happened—it’s unclear if that happened on or off hospital grounds—and that some officials have resigned. Since that report, though, the House Committee on Veterans Affairs chaired by Rep. Michael Bost (R-IL) revealed that “the VA investigation is still ongoing” and “to the Committee’s knowledge, senior leaders at Mountain Home who were aware of this sexually explicit activity are still employed by VA.” Bost noted in the release after the Breitbart News story that the VA is still not providing documents to Congress related to the scandal, and that the committee intends to see the investigation through so everyone involved faces actual accountability.

Now, Blackburn, who represents the state where this occurred in the U.S. Senate, is stepping up to put the heat directly on McDonough regarding this scandal. McDonough is the VA Secretary for Biden, a role he has served in for Biden’s entire presidency. He was also previously the White House chief of staff for all of former President Barack Obama’s second term in office.

Blackburn wrote on Tuesday to McDonough demanding answers and accountability regarding the Mountain Home VA hospital. In the letter obtained exclusively by Breitbart News ahead of its public release, Tennessee’s senior U.S. senator demands the VA secretary personally provide Congress with updates on accountability efforts on this front.

“I write to inquire about the ongoing investigation into allegations of misconduct at the James H. Quillen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Mountain Home VAMC) in Johnson City, Tennessee,” Blackburn wrote to McDonough. “As you know, your staff briefed me regarding disturbing reports of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and inappropriate workplace conduct involving multiple employees at the Mountain Home VAMC.”

Blackburn continues by noting that it is “beyond reprehensible that no individual has been held meaningfully accountable for their actions” with this scandal, and similarly “[e]qually troubling” is that “the leadership and oversight failures that may have allowed such misconduct to occur.”

“The absence of clear answers, coupled with media reports, has caused unnecessary distress among the Mountain Home veteran community. The VA must act urgently to address these concerns,” Blackburn writes.  “Transparency and accountability are not optional —they are essential to restoring trust and ensuring my constituents feel that they can expect this facility to provide them with the highest standard of care.”

Blackburn then asks McDonough several questions personally, and gives him a deadline of Jan. 16, 2025—four days before the end of the Biden administration and the inauguration of incoming President Donald Trump’s return to the White House—to answer them.

The six questions from Blackburn are as follows:

1. What is the status of the ongoing investigation and what is the expected completion date?
2. How many allegations involving sexual misconduct have been made against employees at the Mountain Home VAMC within the last three years?
3. What corrective actions have been taken at the Mountain Home VAMC to discipline employees who may have been involved in the alleged misconduct? Please describe the actions taken against any employee in a leadership role who failed to properly address these allegations.
4. Have any employees been terminated as a result of the investigation?
5. How many employees have been reassigned as a result of the investigation?
6. What additional steps are being considered to prevent future misconduct?

Since that initial Breitbart News report on the Mountain Home VA facility in Tennessee, other outlets have uncovered concerning similar allegations at other VA facilities around the country, including in Texas.

It is unclear at this time if McDonough is even taking this scandal seriously enough to personally help fix these issues, or if he is just coasting through the end of the Biden administration. Trump has named former Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) to be his incoming administration’s VA Secretary, so Collins surely will be taking steps to address these issues upon his confirmation by the U.S. Senate, which will likely happen very soon after Trump’s inauguration.