Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins confronted Military.com reporter Patricia Kime over her irresponsible journalism, challenging her to stop spreading unconfirmed rumors that frighten veterans and VA employees.
Collins didn’t mince words when he ambushed Kime over her outlet’s habit of peddling innuendo disguised as news.
The confrontation came as Kime tried to dodge accountability for a sloppy hit piece implying some shadowy conspiracy involving a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) representative “barging into” the VA and accessing computer systems.
The headline of the article is, “Elon Musk Aide Now Working at VA Accessing Computer Systems.”
Based on the report published by Kime:
A representative from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency now works at the Department of Veterans Affairs, where they have been given access to contracting systems as well as information on VA operations and information technology systems.
Rumors began circulating Tuesday that DOGE representatives visited the VA on Tuesday with an intent to mine data on disability compensation and benefits.
[…]
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., issued a press release Wednesday, saying she had heard that DOGE “may have barged into VA today.”
“Musk and his associates already have the personal financial information of every veteran receiving disability or education benefits because of their illegal data mining at the Department of Treasury. Will they now look at private health records of veterans? What else will they do that could put the health and safety of our veterans at risk?” Murray, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in the statement.
Collins set the record straight: the so-called “DOGE employee” was a VA liaison, a fact Kime conveniently ignored even after getting the answer straight from the source.
Kime caught off guard with the ambushed confrontation, stammered through excuses, claiming she’d sourced her story about a supposed “DOGE representative” barging into the VA. But Collins wasn’t having it.
He zeroed in on her habit of leading with headlines like “rumors are circulating” or “we’ve heard that”—phrases that sow “fear” among veterans and VA staff.
MUST WATCH:
Jim Hᴏft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016.
You can email Jim Hᴏft here, and read more of Jim Hᴏft’s articles here.
