Arizona Newspaper Accuses McCain Of Slow Response To VA Scandal

CAITLIN MACNEAL – JUNE 4, 2014, 2:54 PM EDT

Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) office is is pushing back on accusations that the senator and his staff were slow to respond to information on the VA scandal.

In a story published Tuesday, the Arizona Republic accused McCain and Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ) of failing to respond quickly to concerns of Dr. Sam Foote, the whistleblower who first raised concerns about wait times at the Phoenix VA hospital. The newspaper reviewed correspondence between both offices and Foote, and concluded that McCain's office was "slow to take action" and Kirkpatrick's office "never replied" to Foote's emails.

According to Foote, he reached out to McCain, Kirkpatrick and the U.S. Attorney's office in February after he had already been in touch with the the agency watchdog, the inspector general's office.

Only McCain's office responded, Foote said. He got an email from Tom McCanna, a McCain aide tasked with veterans issues.

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