Do these new allegations explain why Dr. Ronny Jackson lied about Donald Trump’s health?
Earlier this year, military doctor Ronny Jackson performed a physical on Donald Trump, and then proceeded to tell a series of cartoonish lies about Trump’s health. Jackson even went so far as to lie favorably about Trump’s height and weight. The question of course was why. Trump ended up nominating Jackson as his new VA Secretary, suggesting quid pro quo. But now a new series of ugly allegations against Jackson may offer better insight.
The Senate committee vetting Ronny Jackson’s nomination now says there are serious workplace allegations against him. CBS News is reporting that the accusations against Jackson include “excessive drinking, hostile work environment & illegal dispensing of medications.” According to CNN, the Senators on the committee say they’re looking into the allegations, and attempting to figure out if they’re true. This raises the question, of course, as to whether Trump and his people already knew about these allegations. More specifically, did they use the allegations to get what they wanted out of Jackson?
To be clear, it is unknown whether these allegations against Jackson are true, and it’s still not even precisely clear who’s making the allegations against him, or what evidence if any has been presented. But these are the kinds of damning accusations which, even if false, can derail the career of a high ranking military doctor. Considering that Jackson’s medical report about Trump was a series of lies, and Trump’s nomination of Jackson was obviously not above-board to begin with, we now need an investigation into whether Trump or his people may have tried to use these allegations to coerce Jackson into lying about Trump’s health to begin with.
Dr. Ronny Jackson deserves due process when it comes to these allegations, and it sounds like the Senate committee has every intention of getting to the bottom of it one way or the other. But considering the incredibly suspicious nature of Donald Trump’s nomination of Jackson to begin with, we need to be asking what the odds are that this is all one big coincidence, and we need to get to the bottom of that as well.
