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Phoenix VA whistleblower Brandon Coleman has advice for President-elect Donald Trump

Posted at 9:07 PM, Nov 11, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-12 00:48:20-05

A Valley whistleblower is counting on President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign promise to fix the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs, and who better to help him than someone who exposed the corruption and a broken system?

Brandon Coleman has continued to call out the Phoenix VA since first exposing how it ignored suicidal veterans in 2015. He was the target of retaliation and his programs to help veterans recover from addiction were shut down. 

Coleman’s case has since ended and he’s back up and running at another site but says the administrators responsible are either still on the job or allowed to retire with cushy pensions. He maintains the problem persists all the way to the top VA officials. He wants to offer counsel to Trump to set things right and start protecting veterans.

“He needs people around him who will tell him what’s really going on and not just what he wants to hear,” said Coleman.

Coleman wants vets to be able to choose their doctors and not be forced to go to a busy VA hospital emergency room even when they have a common cold. Among other changes he wants to see at the agency is an end to staff bonuses, which he blames for creating the incentive to manipulate wait times. He also wants cushy pensions taken away from those who retaliate against whistleblowers.

"People need to be worried for their jobs. All the suits in D.C. need to be worried for their jobs. Change is coming, it's time to drain the swamp,” he said.