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dr. katherine mitchell, the head of the -- she took the allegations to senator job didn't john mccain. she was reprimanded and put on administrative leave for a solid month, based on claims she may have released patient health information. she is now back on the job and is taking time between seeing a previous patients and the one she is about to see to talk to us. i thank you for that. nice to talk to you, dr. mitchell. >> thank you for having me. >> the issue the day you went to senator mccain, is a understand it, is that there were some documents you were told were about to be shredded and you needed the documents to prove our veterans are not getting the care they need. >> there's actually two or three different stories. the night i helped hide the document, the new appointment request list, was back on the 27th of april. that's a document the oig subsequently included or talked about in their report, that they just released. i actually got -- did not get in trouble for that at that moment. when i turned in my ooh ig report to senator mccain's office the request was that my name be

dr. katherine mitchell, a physician who works right now inside the phoenix v.a. she is confirming what several sources, anderson, have already told us. that in fact, the v.a. kept a secret list. the list was being used to hide the excessive wait from the public, and dr. mitchell also tells us she complained about these excessive wait times as far back as two years ago when the current management first came on board. specifically, she said, she told the new director back then sharon helman that the emergency room at the hospital was overloaded and overloaded, anders anderson, for one reason. it was full of vets who were sick and could not get a doctor's appointment. and i just got off the phone with dr. mitchell who said the management she believes was trying to destroy or get rid of the evidence at the excessive wait times. the work was being conducted on the weekends. she herself this past sunday went to the hospital and hid some of the evidence so the investigators would be able to examine it. dr. mitchell said she had the stacks of the new enrollee appointment

dr. mitchell was saying? >> we asked about every single allegation that she made. the oig got back to us -- no, the oig didn't. the v.a. got back to us and said the oig doesn't want to talk about any of this because they don't want to interfere with their investigation. >> and i just have to ask you about this again, i think i know the answer, did they get back to the regarding the request you made about an interview with secretary shinseki? >> no, they did not. >> and congressman, your bill that just passed the house a short time ago this evening basically gives the v.a. secretary shinseki more power to fire executives who served underneath him and were involved in this management. certainly an additional accountability is an improvement from what is happening. will that be enough in your opinion? >> no, it is not going to be enough. it is a step in the right direction, you have an agency with 30,000 employees in size. this bill will basically focus on about 130 of them. it gives the secretary the ability to fire people who don't do their job. >> congressman, you

dr. mitchell, thank you so much for your time today.at with your primary concerns about this secret waiting list? because it is my understanding that you feared that certain people within the hospital where you were in phoenix might try to do away with some of those documents. >> yes. sunday nightformed by an employee that i've known a long time that he had knowledge of a list that, if management got a hold of it on monday -- sunday night or monday, that they would be able to internally erase evidence that patients had been waiting for a long time to get appointments. >> what did you do after that? >> well, he called me and asked me what to do because -- and so i thought, well, we'll go to the va police desk. the va police are actually, it is a federal police force and there is one at every facility. we went to the police desk after they spoke with their chief, they were unable to take custody of this potential evidence. they did recommend that we find a place to secure it within the facility. at that point -- >> did you do that? >> yes

dr. mitchell, joining us live from columbia university. >> thank you for having me. >> in afghanistan, the u.n. is trying to assist four thousand people displaced by a landslide and over 2,000 people are now dead and poor equipment is making it less likely they are going to find more survivors. we have the latest. >> they spent the night in the open and in the freezing temperatures looking over what used to be their homes and praying for any sign of life. >> seven members of my family when the landslide happened and five of them killed here. >> i urge the government to help take the bodies out. we managed to take ten to 15 and the rest of the vim villagers are trapped here. >> the rain caused the side of the mountain the collapse and the rock and mud sliding down and buried the homes along the way and many with people inside. >> we have managed to find one woman's body and we took that away, with the aid we have refused all of the resources and sent them to the area. >> volunteers from villages are coming to this area with tools and shovels to help the rescuers but the focus is shifting fr

dr. mitchell's allegations strike at the heart of what the v.a. is supposed to be about caring for wounded veterans. has the v.a. responded to her charges? >> reporter: we asked specific questions related to the allegations she's brought up. the v.a. has told us they have been advised not to respond to any of those allegations while this current inspector general investigation is going on. so i guess the comment is no comment right now while they still try to sort out this mess. wol wolf. >> excellent reporting by drew. thanks very much. republican congressman, jeff miller, chairman of the veterans affairs committee in the house told cnn the v.a. scandal over wait lists is quote the tip of the iceberg. there are some 1700 v.a. facilities all over the country. 26 of them are now under investigation because of cnn's reporting. three senior v.a. officials were invited to appear this morning before congressman miller's committee but last night they informed him they couldn't make it. miller's annoyance was obvious. >> i will ask one thing real quick b

dr. katherine mitchell told drew griff

dr. catherine mitchell.investigations that have occurred on a routine basis in the 16 years thraive that i have been there. in general things are swept under the carpet before the investigation is completed because they have advanced notice. majority of administrators are honest. in every facility there are a few administrators who unethical that they basically have and wield enough power that they have the ability to silence everybody who brings up patient care safety issues as well as prohibited personnel practices. >> she says she is fearful of retaliation following her speaking out on our airways. just how broken is this system? >> incredibly broken. i think we need it to know two things. one, there is a difference between inat the expense and criminal activity when something is as wrong as this is. actions cover tracks to make themselves look good. in this case the life of a veteran. that goes beyond incompetence, that's criminal activity. the second thing that i hope every american will keep in mind. w

dr. mitchell. mitchell describes an environment of intimidation against anyone who challenged hospital leadership. she has provided a list she says to the arizona republic with records showing the hospital was using a secret list to hide the long wait times. >> across the country, there are physician after physician that i'm aware of who have tried to speak up for patient safety care issues and have either gotten retaliated against by having their proficiencies dropped, transferred or removed. >> reporter: some lawmakers threatsened a congressional subpoena for the records if the v.a. does not comply. phoenix officials say they take this serious will he and invite the inspector general to investigates. arthel, back to you. >> i'll take it. the death toll we have to tell you is now rising in afghanistan. that after a massive landslide has consumed an entire town. we'll have this latest on this heart breaking and developing story next. >>> former president george w. bush is showing support for americ

dr. mitchell. went to senator mccain's office. ed, she might have, maybe might have compromised patient data. >> dr. foote, you started something here that hopefully will lead to solutions. appreciate your time and what you have done. you get tonight's last word. i want to thank everyone at home for watching. "chris hayes" starts right now. >>> high noon for president obama. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening, i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this unfinished disaster, this ticking grenade, if you will, at the veterans administration. timing is everything in politics and shows how a leader makes decisions, shows decisiveness, confidence, sure-footedness. the longer president obama holds this grenade in his hand, the more dangerous this situation becomes. i'm talking politics here. when a leader confronts a crisis, he needs to act, needs to be seen acting. what action has president obama taken here to deal with the manifest disaster at the va? the disaster of four-month waiting times covered up by clai

dr. katherine mitchell told drew griffin this was happening as recently as a few weeks ago. >> reporter: you're telling me that our troops coming back from war, now separated from active service -- >> who should have priority for scheduling do not. >> reporter: -- who are coming to the phoenix va for follow-up care for war injuries -- >> correct. >> reporter: -- are being put on a waiting list and made to wait six to ten months? >> yes, or longer. >> the phoenix va is 1 of 26 facilities now under investigation, accused of falsifying appointment records with sometimes deadly consequences. in seattle, a family is suing the va, saying scheduling delays were responsible for a veteran's death because his cancer was able to spread. and in portland, oregon, va officials say schedulers made veterans wait more than 14 days for an appointment 30,000 times. the president says he is outraged at the allegations. he is promising punishment if those allegations are proven true. >> we are going to fix whatever is wrong, and so long as i have the privilege of serving as commander in chief, i am going to

dr. katherine mitchell is now coming forward to us.n who transitions current enlisted people into the vets system, the v.a. system, as they are coming out of deployment. yes, these are our most current warriors who are coming into the v.a., supposed to be first in line, carol, and they are being told to wait. dr. mitchell, i just want to make sure i understand what you're telling me. you are telling me that our troops coming back from war, now separated from active service -- >> who should have priority for scheduling do not. >> reporter: -- who are coming to the phoenix v.a. for follow-up care for war injuries. >> correct. >> reporter: are being put on a waiting list and made to wait six to ten months? >> yes, or longer. >> reporter: you're kidding. >> no. but it's the same for everyone. everyone is made to wait. >> reporter: that's now? that's happening now? >> yeah, unless they've changed something since the oig -- >> reporter: you're there now. >> i don't -- since all this happened, people -- >> reporter: but we're talking about tw

dr. katherine mitchell says she was moved out of the emergency room when she complained it was understaffed and poorly run. >> in the 16 years that i've been there, every time someone speaks up for patient safety or concerns about patient care, they essentially are retaliated against. >> reporter: in an e-mail to the acting director, mitchell urged that nabors meet privately with hospital workers. "most staff will likely refuse to speak openly in front of other administrators because of palpable fear of retaliation." >> he needs to speak to the employees who have been struggling ethically with these issues for years and are waiting for someone to come and listen to them. >> reporter: judi beischel, the american legion's arizona commander, spends time with veterans across the state and has heard many complaints about the phoenix v.a. hospital. she's one of the members of veterans groups invited to meet the president's representative at the hospital today. >> reporter: nabors will report to the president on his visit here today. his findings are separate, scott, from an investigation under wa

dr. katherine mitchell made kelly claims the va hospital administration ordered the staff to erase evidencethey were warning an inspector general investigation and so things are usually covered up. it wouldn't be unusual. >> dr. katherine also claims there was a secret list that veterans were placed on because wi the president wanted to show wait times for patient care were shorter. >> i know there was delays between the time the patient requested an appointment and the time they were put on the weighting list. >> some of the patients were delayed almost a year before even seeing the doctor. >> you may not be allowed to have people with backyard barbecue. lawmakers in fairfax county, virginia want to limit gatherings in people's homes. they want to add it can't happen more than three times in 40 days. they have already received complaints but the county supervisor says there were six complaints last year.=ó)> prayer allowed in governmentp meetings. supreme court ruling prayers don't violate t

dr. mitchell says that she had not dealt with any veterans who died waiting to be seen but she did say she is aware of the problems of veteran suicides and knows of patients who needed intense mental health treatment and could not get an point. >> troops and a predator drone. the u.s. is taking action to track down more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls. what's the first step in finding them? and in the wake of the donald sterling scandal, another nba owner's comments making headlines today. mark cuban says i know i'm prejudiced, i know i'm big gotted. should he be punished? let's take this in context. we know we're not the center of your life, but we'll do our best to help you connect to what is. >> welcome back. in thailand the military says it's running everything now. it has taken over the country, delivered a televised announcement after rival political faks failed to form a government. the thai constitution is done for. schools have been closed, tv stations heavily censored. washington is now reviewing all u.s. aid to thailand. and now to the 80 american troops hitting the ground, we kn

dr. kathryn mitchell. she described an environment of intim edition against anyone who challenged hospital leadership. she provided a list with records showing that the hospital used a secret list to hide the long wait times. >> cross the country, physician after physician tried to speak up for patient safety care issues and gotten retaliated against by having proficiencies dropped and removed. >> law makers threatened a subpeona for the records if they don't comply. phoenix facility officials say they invite the inspector general to investigate. molly, back to you. >>> thank you. general motors announcing another recall. pulling tens of thousands of vehicles off of the road and still trying to recover from the last big recall. >> former president george bush facing questions about 2016. and his thoughts about a possible white house run with his brother jeb. ything i have into this place. that's why i got a new windows 2 in 1. it has exactly what i need for half of what i thought i'd pay. and i don't need

dr. catherine mitchell.he describes an environment of intimidation against anyone who challenged hospital leadership, she said she's provided a list showing the hospital was using that secret list to hide long wait times. >> physician after physician that i'm aware of who have tried to speak up for patient safety care issues and have gotten retaliated against by having their proficiencies dropped. it's always better to work for change within the system. >> some lawmakers have threated a subpoena. the phoenix facility, officials there, say they take these issues very seriously and they invite the office of inspector general to investigate. >>> condoleezza rice will not be giving rutgers university's commentment speech at all, b bowing out as student protests angry about her role in iraq war. in a statement released today, saying rutgers invitation to me to speak has become a distraction for the university community at this special time. i am honored to have served my country. i have defended free speech and e

dr. katherine mitchell has worked there 16 years and is now medical director of a transitional program. you for being here. this is stunning. you heard that witness that we tracked down in phoenix saying there was a secret list. the veterans were being placed on it because they wanted to show the wait times were shorter than they were. in fact, if veterans were waiting five and six months to get seen and the secret list helped the v.a. keep a record of who they were. the official list showed the wait list was only two weeks. do you confirm that was happening? >> well, i knew that there was a delay between the time the patient requested an appointment and the time they were put on the electronic waiting list. even when i first transfer ared over to the clinic where i work in now, we went. back through to see if we could schedule some patients with me and we found some waiting as long as a year to get in for an appointment. >> now you have dr. foot and others coming forward to say, i'm telling you, it's because there was a secret list. that basically that the employees were told to keep t

dr. kathryn mitchell. >> as i watched that arrival video you just aired.id it take drew give fin and cnn and the reporting you've done for him to arrive at that hospital and the president to hold a news conference yesterday when this was part of the campaign when president obama was a senator. this is too long and too ugly. again, congratulations to your team for uncovering this. drew griffin reporting for us live. >>> we are following another case i'm sure at some point in your life you have either seen or heard of since you know something about hashbrownies. we have a legal question whether a punishment could possibly fit a crime. listen. >> when i heard i was going to get life in jame, my face turned completely white and i had to throw up. >> and you heard right. life. a texas teenager possibly facing up to 99 years behind bars, all because of allegedly making and selling brownies laced with pot and hash. the l"legal view" on that next. i saw this red, blistery, rash and i felt this horrible pain on one side of my back. i had 16 magic shows to do. i did

dr. katherine mitchell saying she and a colleague rescued subpoenaed evidence after learning about plans shred it. the longtime v.a. employee saying she shared concerns about patient care with the hospital's director two years ago. that woman on your screen, sharon helman, now on administrative leave. here's the whistle-blower. >> there was a perfect storm in the e.r. and i was afraid a patient would die because i did not have the resources. she asked me how things were going. i told her unless we had additional staffing, unless we had additional ancillary services and other resources that the e.r. was too dangerous to continue and we should be shut down immediately. >> amber barno is the spokesperson and she joins me. we have another physician coming forward. i don't know what's more shocking, that she felt like the emergency room wasn't doing well enough to continue functioning or that they stopped subpoenaed documents from being shredded. >> yeah. this really demonstrates the deep systemic issues at the v.a. and why it's failing. employees are literally having to work in an environmen

dr. katherine mitchell works at a hospital in phoenix where the treatment delays may have been deadly.e scandal started there and now it spread in a big way. look at this, dozens of states now caught up in the middle of this investigation we'll also hear from the white house and more lawmakers from both parties call for the v.a. secretary to resign. that's top of the hour. see you then. >> thanks so much, shep. time for a quick check of the headlines around the world today. japan announcing that north korea agreed to open a new investigation into the fate of japanese citizens kidnapped back in the 1970s and '80s. japan saying the resolution is the issue and a crucial step towards normalizing ties with the north. >>> top scientists warning the world health organization not to classify ecigarettes as tobacco products saying they're part of the solution and could save hundreds of millions of lives. >>> and remembering maya angelou as folks place flowers and notes outside the north carolina home of the award-winning author and poet, angelou died yesterday at the age of 86. >>> well, some u

dr. kathryn mitchell. mitchell describes an environment of intimidation against anybody who challenged hospital leaders. she has provided a list, she says, to the arizona republic, with records showing the hospital was using that secret list to hide the long wait times for the former military. she also says it wouldn't be the first time for an offense like this. >> in the past, the investigations that have occurred on a routine basis in the 16 years that i've been there in general, things are swept under the carpet before the investigation is completed, because they have advanced notice. >> reporter: mitchell went on to say administrators unethical have the ability to silence those simply trying to follow the rules. kelly, back to you. >> thank you. >>> this past week, by the way, we did see an extensive interview and story by our own ainsli ainslierhart on handy han ity. >> condoleezza rice will not deliver the commencement address at rutgers university. her decision coming on the heels of student and fac

dr. kathryn mitchell. mitchell describes an environment of intimidation against anyone wholed challenged hospital leadership. she has provided a list with records showing the hospital was using a sec writ list to hide the long wait times. >> across the country, there is physician after physician that i'm aware of, who have tried to speak up for safety patient care issues, and have either gotten retaliated against by having the precisions dropped. >> some lawmakers have threatened a congressional subpoena for the records if the v.a. does not comply. phoenix facility officials say they take these issues and accusations very seriously and invite the independent v.a. office of inspector general to investigate. in washington, elizabeth prann, fox news. >>> meanwhile, the woman who recorded racist comments by the owner of the los angeles clippers now speaking out. in an interview with abc's "20-20," vi stiffian osays the comments released to the public were not the first by donald sterling in conversations with

dr. mitchell.ng as potential secret lists in terms of work flow that were confirming. i think there were lists, i don't think they're secret. >> there are secret lists, multiple lists we found even within areas of specialty. so this whole idea that it's a misunderstanding i think is a red herring, to try to claim that what they were doing was trying to provide quicker health care for the veterans. let the facts speak for themselves. >> chris, lynch was trying to tell me last night that the secret list was actually an interim work product that was destroyed. that may be what the va is going to try to explain to those members of congress. i'm telling you, they are not buying it. >> what is the doctor's explanation for how this keeps happening within the system? >> he believes there was a performance goal put in place a performance goal of making sure every veteran was seen within 14 days, and reaching that performance goal kind of lost track of what the actual goal was, which was to see the patients

dr. katherine mitchell. i want you to hear what she told us.he heads the clinic and said recently as much as three weeks ago, veterans who are literally coming home from war, just separated from the service, are having to wait in these lines for doctors' appointments like everybody else. >> our troops coming back from war now separated from service who are coming to the phoenix v.a. for follow-up care for war injuries. >> correct. >> are being put on a waiting list and forced to wait six to ten months? >> yes, or longer. >> reporter: you're kidding me. >> no. it's the same as everybody. everybody is made to wait. >> reporter: that's now? that's happenings now? >> yes. >> reporter: katherine mitchell reported that to the office of inspector general months and months ago. still, the practice continued to as much as three weeks ago until the investigation began there. wolf. >> drew, stand by, the chair hand of the house committee is here and he says this is just the tip of the iceberg. he said his panel was stood up by congressman jeff is here of