|
Without due process of law, there is nothing left to defend. The
Navy Inspector General (LCDR Carolyn Medina) refuses to take testimony from a named witness (CDR H. Butler; 757 377 7775).
Senator Lieberman asked the Secretary of the Navy
Winter to investigate Dr. Gluck's allegations; investigation passed to Dr. Arthur (202 762 3701), but he is under investigation! Dr. Gluck (ESGLTCOM@aol.com) reported harm to patients and was expelled from the navy by Dr. John A. Burkhart
(800-241-4848). I was ordered NOT to testifiy on behalf of Dr. Gluck, and discussed this case with Dr. Arthur
and asked Congressman Waxman for protection from reprisal. Independent inquiry might convince potential navy doctors
that their careers will not be subject to such apparent whistleblower reprisal for reporting patient-risks. Until
cases such as Dr. Gluck's case are set right, doctors enlist in the World's Finest Navy at their peril.
| Senator Lieberman's letter. |
|
| to Secretary Winter. Click to enlarge letter. |
| Clarine Nardi-Riddle J.D. states |
|
| July 20, 2007 is the date of the report. |
Public Law 100-456 is the military whistleblower protection act,
applicable to Dr. Gluck's case including, but not limited to, denial of due process, reprisal after whistleblowing, and psychiatric
intimidation. Both the Deputy Surgeon General and the Surgeon General are lawyers. Dr. Mateczun attended Georgetown
Law School. It is not known which law school Dr. Arthur attended.
Link to Senator Lieberman's attempt to settle this case on behalf of Eric S. Gluck, M.D.
533 Elizabeth Place
Portsmouth, Virginia 23704
1 May 2007
The Honorable Robert Scott
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Congressman Scott:
I am a constituent from Portsmouth, Virginia. Today I am sending this statement for the Congressional Record:
Physician Peer Review Reform –
Physician Whistleblower
Henry E. Butler III, M.D. FACS
Commander, USNR (Ret.)
Under protection of Public Law 100-456 (the McDermott-Boxer Amendment) I respectfully report that I was ordered
NOT to testify on behalf of a colleague, Eric S. Gluck M.D., LCDR, USNR after he had become a military whistleblower for patient
safety.
I reported this illegal order (witness tampering) to my former congressman, the Honorable Henry A. Waxman J.D.
as a violation of law. I reported
it to the Honorable James McDermott M.D., Senator Feinstein, Senator Boxer, and to the Honorable Robert Scott, my new congressman. Two weeks ago I was called by Mr. Fred Downey of Senator Lieberman's office.
I have reported the abuses of Dr. Gluck's civil liberties and civil rights to the DOD Inspector General (10 June
2003) and then to Mr. Charles Allgood of the DOD Hotline (800-424-9098) two weeks ago, because last year I spoke with Lieutenant
Commander C.M. Medina, USNR, of the Naval IG office in an attempt to give evidence on behalf of Dr. Gluck, but LCDR Medina
refused to take evidence even though I am a named witness and even though Senator Lieberman requested Navy Secretary Winter
to look into Dr. Gluck's situation. I believe LCDR Medina is obstructing justice: The navy cannot investigate itself.
Until this case is independently investigated with proper respect for due process of law and restitution of Dr.
Gluck's position such that he is granted access to his own personnel records, I believe physicians enlist in the "World's
Finest Navy" at some considerable risk for the safety of their patients and their career.
It is the rule of law that we defend, and Dr. Gluck has been denied due process of law despite the fact that the naval
surgeon general, Donald Arthur J.D., M.D., is an attorney according to his official biography.
Details of this case can be found at www.SemmelweisSociety.net.
Sincerely,
Henry E. Butler III, M.D. FACS
cc:
Dr. McDermott
533 Elizabeth Place
Portsmouth, Virginia 23704
23 April 2007
The Honorable Robert C. Scott
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Sir:
Enclosed is correspondence in which another officer, Lieutenant Colonel Stephen W. Smith, and I cite
violations of law in federal agencies, both civilian and military. We met Congressman McDermott 9 years ago to discuss
similar violations.
I served 20 years on Active Duty and remain in the Fleet Reserve; I therefore request your protection
from further reprisal for whistleblowing as stated herein. I recently registered to vote in your district.
As stated in some detail, there is an active case of reprisal against a surgical colleague.
He reported patient endangerment at two federally-supported hospitals (one civilian hospital supported by Medicare; one naval
hospital supported by DOD) and was drummed out of the Navy without even access to his own personnel records, in violation,
I believe, of the Privacy Act.
Several present and former officers have requested investigation, restitution, and compensation,
but without success. The victim is without counsel and impoverished without judicial review, perhaps somewhat like GIDEON
v. Wainwright. To the non-legal mind, this is simply a modern Dreyfus Case in the American Navy rather than the French
Army. Either way, it is a disgrace which has an easy administrative remedy.
The victim, Lieutenant Commander Eric S. Gluck, should be allowed access to his own naval personnel
records so he can request restitution before the Board For Correction of Naval Records. Vice-Admiral Donald C. Arthur
M.D., J.D., Ph.D. should be invited to participate in the restitution of Dr. Gluck. If we continue to deny this man
due process of law, we will have committed legal rendition without even a signing statement, and by destroying the rule of
law we are sworn to defend, we will have broken our oath to defend the Constitution against "all Enemies, foreign and Domestic."
We will have deprived ourselves of that which we defend above all else, the rule of law.
Sincerely,
Henry E. Butler III, M.D., FACS
Commander, USNR (Ret.)
Enclosure (1)
Letter to The Honorable James McDermott
533 Elizabeth Place
Portsmouth, Virginia 23704
22 April 2007
The Honorable James
McDermott M.D.
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Sir:
Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Whitlock Smith, USAR (Retired)
(www.stephenwhitlocksmith.org) and I met with you approximately
9
years ago this week to discuss violations of the law (McDermott/Boxer
Act) in his case: He was confined in reprisal
on a U.S. Army
psychiatry ward at Madigan Army Medical Center after he reported
risks to patients (in Landstuhl, then
commanded by Colonel Kevin
Kiley, the recent Surgeon General of the Army), and after he reported
illegal orders NOT
to treat civilian patients in the emergency room
at Landstuhl, in violation of the Hippocratic Oath.
Dr. Smith, Captain Benjamin Newman, a senior physician in the Navy
with ~39 years combined Active and Reserve duty, and
I would like to
request an urgent meeting with you on behalf of LCDR Eric S. Gluck,
USNR (former) (www.ericgluck.org),
as summarized in a letter I wrote
on his behalf (1) to Senator Boxer two years ago when I was on active
duty.
In contrast to Dr. Smith (2) and myself who are whistleblowers who
both were allowed to retire (without promotion), Dr.
Gluck has been
subjected to an array of abuse that can only be described as
intentional, anti-Semitic psychological
torture against a
whistleblower for patient safety. WWW.SemmelweisSociety.net is a web
site which lists several
such instances. The Surgeon General of the
Navy, Donald C. Arthur M.D., J.D., Ph.D. (202-762-3701) is closely
involved
with the legal decisions in this case. Dr. Gluck cannot
afford an attorney, but the law (USC 10, Section 1034) places
the
Congress in the chain of command and already allows a swift
administrative remedy for such intentional, collusive
'administrative
errors' as constitute this case (Witness Tampering (Captain Burkhart,
according to Captain Ranck), Mail
Fraud (Captain Burkhart),
Obstruction of Justice by Navy Inspector General Lieutenant Commander
Carolyn M. Medina, withholding
evidence, failure to act to protect
patients despite being informed by Dr. Gluck of risks to patients,
interfering with
a Protected Communication (Captain Arthur, according
to LCDR Gluck).
Per your instruction
to send documents to Mrs. Grady, I am sending
the letters below and will obtain any other documents you deem
appropriate.
Dr. Gluck has just been isolated electronically and financially, he
is unemployed, and for several years the "system" of
military justice
has failed. I have asked the DOD IG to investigate this case;
nothing has happened. I have
spoken as recently as last summer with
a Navy IG about this case, and the IG has refused to take testimony
and has hung
up the telephone. In fact, I was ordered NOT to testify
on Dr. Gluck's behalf at a hearing. In succinct terms,
this case, a
"Naval Walter Reed", is a disgrace to an organization that calls
itself "The World's Finest Navy."
It is a modern Dreyfus Case of
anti-Semitism in the US Navy instead of in the French Army. There is
a written
plan (by Commander Franklin Nelson) to discredit a
whistleblower for patient safety; that plan is succeeding. The
methods
used against Dr. Gluck constitute psychological torture.
Torture, rendition, collusion, deliberate defamation are what
Senator
Boxer called "un-American" on ABC's "Nightline" in 1991
(www.stephenwhitlocksmith.org/). They are the
antithesis of the rule
of law and they never deserve to be defended. The Navy cannot fairly
be asked to investigate
itself when it refuses to take testimony from
named witnesses. The DOD cannot be asked investigate itself.
An
independent Branch such as the Congress must act, or we will face the
anarchy described by Brandeis:
"Our
government...teaches the whole people by its example. If the
government becomes the lawbreaker, it breeds contempt
for law; it invites
every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy."
Since Senator Lieberman asked Secretary
of the Navy Winter to investigate
15 months ago, testimony has been refused by LCDR Medina and the rule of
law has evaporated.
It is the administrative equivalent of 735 signing
statements...
Because I am in the Fleet
Reserve and subject to punitive recall in
reprisal for blowing the whistle under the law, I request protection
against
reprisal. Since leaving Active Duty I have changed my voting
address to the 3rd District of Virginia.
Sincerely,
Henry E. Butler III, M.D. FACS
Commander, USNR
(Retired)
cc:
Senator Boxer
Congressman Robert Scott
Captain Benjamin Newman, Medical Corps,
USN
Stephen Whitlock Smith M.D., FACEM, FACP
Judge Clarine Nardi Riddle, Office of Senator Lieberman
Congressman
Waxman
Enclosures (2)
----------
(1) Letter to Senator Boxer
(2) Letter to Mr. Trahan
----------
Enclosure
(1)
575 Levering Avenue
Los Angeles, California 94024
May 31, 2005
The Honorable
Barbara Boxer
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Boxer:
I am a Californian on active
duty requesting your assistance in pursuing
restitution for my surgical colleague, Dr. Eric S. Gluck. His career
as a
surgeon in the Navy was deliberately destroyed in reprisal after he became
a whistleblower by reporting risks to
patients at the Naval Hospital in
Groton and its civilian-partnership facility, the William W. Backus
Hospital in Norwich,
Connecticut. This intentional administrative abuse
was fueled by underlying animosity and disregard for members of
his
religion and other minorities stationed at the Groton Naval Hospital 1, 2.
Federal law does not protect him from
this ‘un-American’ conduct by
federal officials. LCDR Gluck’s career and reputation were ruined
even
after Mr. Brian Cowan, the Deputy Military Inspector General of Navy
Region Northeast concluded that LCDR Gluck’s
chain of command conducted
medical peer review in bad faith and took other actions that violated
principles of military
good order and discipline, in order to further
discredit him.
In addition, several individuals who reported nepotism
in Naval hiring,
fraud (moonlighting during federal duty hours), or conflict of interest
(self-referral of patients
to private practices) also suffered
retaliation. This situation affected the surgical schedule and restricted
the
amount of surgery Dr. Gluck and other surgeons could perform on behalf
of federal patients during active duty hours.
The
harassment Dr. Gluck endured from his government is as ‘un-American’
as the two cases you cited as ‘un-American’
on ABC’s Nightline when you
were in the House of Representatives3. This travesty shows why an
organization
cannot be left without oversight to investigate or to
discipline itself.
In contrast to Dr. Gluck, as a whistle-blower
I was permitted to complete
20 years of military service after reporting patient-endangerment and
witness-tampering,
albeit without promotion, without favorable
assignments, and without freedom from criticism for objecting to the
treatment
afforded my colleague. I suffered reprisal as recently as this
spring in the form of admonition for pursuing justice
for Dr. Gluck. Why
was I allowed to complete my career while Dr. Gluck was not allowed to
complete his career?
Is it because I am not Jewish? Why was he forced
out of the navy at a time our government was paying a critical specialty
bonus
to retain general surgeons on active duty? I respectfully submit
his is a modern Dreyfus Case2.
I was illegally
ordered by my military superior, CAPT Sidney Ranck, MC,
USN, NOT to testify at LCDR Gluck's purportedly "Full and Fair"
competency
hearing to determine the future of his career. Dr. Gluck should never
have been summarily suspended
from his surgical practice after recognizing
and appropriately treating a surgical complication following a procedure
he
performed and from which the patient recovered. More egregious still
is the fact that LCDR Gluck was never permitted
to return to work as a
general surgeon at the William W. Backus Hospital (Medicare) under the
Tri-Care contract with
the government, even after he was exonerated of
alleged medical incompetence by his commanding officer, CAPT Gregory H.
Adkisson
MC, USN, ten months later4. LCDR Gluck was clearly being
treated differently from other surgical colleagues
within the same
military command.
I learned that LCDR Gluck’s deputy commanding officer, CAPT John A.
Burkhart,
MC, USN, was responsible for initiating this episode of
witness-tampering and intimidation against me by calling my commanding
officer
at Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune in the summer of 2000. Even after
it was acknowledged that CAPT Burkhart’s military
conduct was
inappropriate, no corrective actions were taken. On the other hand, after
I challenged this illegal
order and decided to testify, I was denied--for
"not being a "team player"--the customary educational funding to keep
physicians
up to date. I was then secretly investigated without notice
such that I could not defend myself, and declared to
be a "bad officer."
This bad officer has brought Dr. Gluck's case to the attention of the
present Navy Surgeon General,
VADM Donald C. Arthur MC, USN, on 3
occasions, because I believe this to be a Dreyfus case of collusion in
anti-Semitic
defamation. Accordingly, I requested the Honorable Henry A.
Waxman to protect me from further reprisal as a consequence
of protesting
this illegal order not to testify for Dr. Gluck5.
Federal law has failed to protect government physicians
who have attempted
to advocate for patients by reporting medical fraud, waste, and abuse6.
Because most civilian hospitals
are federally-funded (Medicare), this case
has broad implications under the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of
1986
(HCQIA). Under most corporate hospital administrations, physicians
are NOT free to act on behalf of patients because
parties
other-than-physicians hold enough political power to distract doctors from
treating their patients. Said
non-physicians have authority without
responsibility or knowledge, whereas physicians have knowledge,
responsibility,
and liability without authority.
I estimate the costs associated with the loss of Dr. Gluck's services to
the American
taxpayer for the past 5 years exceed several million dollars.
In addition, our government's loss of credibility understandably
discourages
physicians and medical students from entrusting their careers
to military leadership, Tri-Care administrators, and contractual
corporate
combinations of the two systems. Because federal law does not protect
federal (or civilian) physicians, Congressional
support for restitution of
Dr. Gluck's career and personal damages is needed to address this ongoing
injustice.
Further details of his case are available on the website
www.ericgluck.org.
Mr. Paul Mitchell of your staff offered
10 A.M., July 1, 2005 as an
agreeable time to discuss this case. Because I was criticized just this
year for attempting
to contact the Surgeon General on behalf of LCDR
Gluck, I respectfully request your protection of my career under the
provisions
of Public Law 100-456, as amended, for writing to you to
request this meeting.
Sincerely,
Henry E. Butler III M.D., FACS
Commander, USNR
Cc:
The Honorable Diane Feinstein
The Honorable Joseph I.
Lieberman
The Honorable Rob Simmons
The Honorable Henry A. Waxman
1 Summary of prejudice against Dr. Gluck:
Waste:
Taxpayers have lost several million dollars worth of Dr. Gluck’s
surgical / medical services.
Waste: Moonlighting
during federal duty hours.
Fraud: Dishonest recruitment: Improper entry rank-error was never
corrected.
Dr. Gluck was told he qualified to be a full Commander.
Fraud: CAPT John A. Burkhart, MC, USN engaged in nepotism
by hiring his
wife for a federal hospital position at Naval Hospital Groton.
Fraud: Naval physicians were
engaged in private medical practices in the
local civilian communities surrounding the Naval Base in Groton clearly in
conflict
of interest with their federal job and active duty
responsibilities.
Abuse: Reprisal for reporting patient-endangerment
that to this day remains uninvestigated:
a. Several surgical patients were placed under general anesthesia
before
operative consents were signed and before Dr. Gluck or his assistants were
available to operate.
b.
An unidentified physician at the William W. Backus Hospital wrote
orders on a post-operative patient without Dr. Gluck’s
knowledge or
consent. This unidentified physician wrote for massive doses of
intravenous narcotics and sedatives
despite the fact that the patient was
already receiving epidural narcotics (pain medicine) as ordered by Dr.
Gluck.
The mystery-physician’s orders resulted in the patient’s severe
respiratory depression. Fortunately,
Dr. Gluck recognized the danger and
prevented the patient’s death.
c. Even after his exoneration,
LCDR Gluck was prevented from seeing a
post-operative patient who developed epididymitis, a medical condition,
six months
after a successful laparoscopic bilateral hernia repair.
Ultrasound studies showed no vascular compromise of the patient’s
testicle
but inflammation of the superior pole of the testicle, consistent with
epididymitis, instead. CAPT Richard
B. Wallace, MC, USN, a family practice physician but not a surgeon, authorized outside consultation with a civilian general
surgeon in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This surgical consultation resulted in the loss of the patient’s normal
testicle for unstated reasons. The final pathology report was reviewed by Dr. Gluck and confirmed that his patient had
a normal testicle amputated despite the fact that the ultrasound exam performed at Bethesda Naval Hospital showed adequate
blood supply. The general surgeon in New Hampshire undoubtedly acted in good faith, but Dr. Gluck’s discussions
with several consulting physicians involved in this case led to the realization that the civilian surgeon may not have been
adequately informed of the ultrasound study
results. Accordingly, Dr. Gluck requested Dr. Wallace, the Director of
Clinical Services at Naval Hospital Groton, to investigate this case. Two local military surgeons were assigned to evaluate
the case (Dr. Helmholz and Dr. Rasmussen). They both told Dr. Gluck they could not explain why the civilian surgeon
removed the testicle. Dr. John Burkhart or Dr. Francis R. MacMahon then appointed a nurse to reevaluate the surgeons’
conclusions. The nurses decided that no error in judgment had occurred in the treatment of this case by any member of
the local Navy Medical Corps command. They dismissed LCDR Gluck’s ongoing concerns. Unfortunately, nurses
are not qualified to make medical judgments; appropriately, they
hold no credentials to do so. Therefore, assignment
of this case by two
non-surgeons to non-physicians (nurses) under their command influence
constitutes the appearance
of a cover-up. Dr. Gluck, I believe, reported
this case to VADM Donald C. Arthur and the DOD IG, Joseph E. Schmitz.
Abuse:
Reprisal for reporting fraud (moonlighting on federal time)
Abuse: Summary suspension for incurring a known surgical
complication
despite the patient’s successful outcome as a result of Dr. Gluck’s
recognition and treatment
of the complication.
Abuse: After exoneration from allegations of medical incompetence, the
Naval Medical Corps
Leadership failed to administratively support LCDR
Gluck, effectively preventing him from utilizing his reportedly
fully-reinstated
‘Navy’ medical / surgical credentials.
Abuse: Credentials Libel & Mail Fraud: Intentional
withholding of
federal mail resulted in the lapsing of his surgical 'privileges' to
practice at the William W. Backus
Hospital under the Tri-Care contract.
Dr. Gluck was thereby denied a property right in his professional
reputation and
deprived of his entire livelihood for 5 years to date.
This is discrimination.
Abuse: Written documentation of
a plan to impoverish Dr. Gluck with legal
fees, discovered in an illegal personnel file maintained by Commander
Franklin
S. Nelson, MC, USNR, in October 1998. In multiple notes in this
file it is clear that part of the plan included forcing
LCDR Gluck to
retain civilian attorneys (‘ballis àlawyer’). This file also listed the
names of several
members of the Executive Committee of the Medical Staff
at Naval Hospital Groton involved in this collusion. In this
illegal file
Commander Franklin S. Nelson classified Dr. Gluck as an 'outsider.’
2 Why I Believe This Is A
Dreyfus Case
Abuse: Anti-Semitism LCDR James R. Dunne MC, USNR told Dr. Gluck he was
being 'prayed for' at prayer
meetings convened on federal property,
meetings from which Dr. Gluck was excluded at Naval Hospital Groton. This
is
harassment and discriminatory. At some point during his tour of duty
at Groton, LCDR Dunne began carrying a
copy of the Holy Bible around with
him while on duty during work hours.
Abuse: Anti-Semitism CAPT Richard B. Wallace,
MC, USN, one of LCDR Gluck’s
immediate superiors, also carried the Holy Bible around with him. He
often
entered Dr. Gluck's office with Bible in hand to remind him that the
"Jews were the Chosen People." CAPT Wallace
also informed Dr. Gluck that
it appeared he was really trying hard to be just like 'one of them' in the
Navy, whatever
that means.
Abuse: Anti-Semitism Dr. Gluck also heard similar comments from civilian
members of the command such
as Mrs. Nancy Watkinson. She was the civilian
in charge of the Medical Records Department who told him in public on Navy
property,
"We are all going to pray for you."
3 www.StephenWhitlockSmith.org is an Internet website that displays the
video
of Representative Boxer calling ‘un-American’ the treatment Dr.
Denise Kirkland, US Air Force and Michael Tufariello,
US Navy, both of
whom were subjected to involuntary psychiatric harassment after reporting
patient endangerment and
fraud, respectively. Dr. Kirkland was ordered
to see a psychiatrist after reporting substandard care by a nurse,
and
Chief Tufariello was involuntarily confined on a psychiatry ward at
Shepard Air Force Base after reporting 600 instances
of payroll fraud at
the Dallas Naval Air Station. These are examples of erosion of medical
standards by federal
officials with authority over physicians but without
responsibility for care, and of punishment of federal personnel who
are
attempting to uphold honesty in government. This is Gulag government; it
is most certainly not what we are
defending. In the words of Justice
Louis Brandeis:
“Decency, security, and liberty alike demand
that government officials
shall be subjected to the same rules of conduct that are commands to the
citizen... If the
government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for
law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites
anarchy.”
4
The story of suspension DESPITE exoneration by his commanding officer
As Dr. Gluck’s commanding officer at the
time, CAPT Gregory H. Adkisson,
MC, USN claimed he could not control what happened at the civilian
hospital even though
Dr. Gluck’s previous commanding officer, CAPT
Kathleen A. Hiatt, a nurse, had ordered him to work there. In
his efforts
to assist Dr. Gluck, CAPT Adkisson frequently referenced an unacceptable
proposal questionably referred
to as the ’95 % solution’ that did not
address the systematic damages already inflicted upon Dr. Gluck’s
professional
credentials. This damage included the loss of his American
Board of Surgery certification as a direct consequence
of his immediate
superiors’ preventing him from performing major surgery for over two and
one half years.
It appears CAPT Adkisson came under his own military
career-retaliation for having exonerated LCDR Gluck: The captain
was
relieved of his command prematurely before he could carry out any of the
corrective actions that he assured and
promised LCDR Gluck would occur.
5 In 2003 I brought Dr. Gluck’s case and the reprisal I suffered for
supporting
him to the attention of Michael Yeager, LL.B, David A. Rapallo,
LL.B., and Joshua Sharfstein M.D., FAAP of the staff of
Congressman Waxman
on June 9, 2003, one day before I testified in these matters to the
Department of Defense Inspector
General together with my attorney, Ralph
M. Bard M.D., J.D., FACS, CDR (USNR Ret.). The transcript of that
testimony
can be made available upon request.
6 Dr. David Shaller was declared to be a whistle-blower by a
subcommittee
of the House Committee On Government Reform (House Report
102-1062, November 09, 1992). Dr. Shaller was then denied
statutory
judicial review by the Supreme Court and was never restored to practice by
Congress. Such treatment
will deter students from considering careers as
physicians, and discourages physicians entering federal service as payback
for
tuition payments (Health Professions “Scholarship” Program).
-------------------------------------------
Enclosure
(2)
-----
19 April 2007
Defense Hotline
Mr. Leonard Trahan, Jr., Director,
Defense Hotline
800-424-9098
(e-mail: hotline@dodig.mil)
Subject: Freedom of Information Act Request on behalf of Dr. Eric Gluck,
MD, former
US Navy Surgeon
In accordance with Freedom of Information Act Section 846 (Safeguarding of
military whistleblowers)
of Public Law No. 100-456, otherwise known as the
Boxer-McDermott Whistleblower Protection Law, I make this request.
As
one of Dr. Eric Gluck's official witnesses who has of today's date
still not been contacted by US Navy Inspector General
investigators and
personnel who report to same, I request documents relating to the
continuing delay in interviewing
Dr. Gluck's witnesses from the date and
time of Monday 21 June 2004 at 1400 hours when Dr. Gluck and his witnesses
including
myself met with Dr. Michelle McMurry, MD, PhD, Medical
Consultant to Senator Lieberman, and Judge Clarine Nardi Riddle,
Senator
Lieberman's Chief of Staff at 706 Hart Office Building, Washington, DC
20510.
I request all letters,
memoranda, emails, notes, of all forms of
communication electronic, recorded, and photocopied, between current Navy
Surgeon
General Admiral Donald Arthur and US Navy Inspector General
personnel and those investigators and coordinators reporting
to the Navy
IG, including Jill Vines Loftus, Deputy Navy IG, LCDR Carolyn M. Medina,
NME IG Coordinator, LT Jeremy D.
Wilkinson, MSC, USNR Naval Health Care
New England, and Connecticut attorney Mary Alice Leonhardt that would
evidence
an unlawful effort to circumvent, defeat, delay, discredit,
prevent, or otherwise disrupt Dr. Eric Gluck's complaint against
current
Navy Surgeon General Admiral Donald Arthur in order to allow Admiral
Arthur to retire in order to avoid prosecution.
Furthermore,
I request all letters, memoranda, emails, notes, of all forms
of communication electronic, recorded, and photocopied, between
current
Navy Surgeon General Admiral Donald Arthur, his subordinates and
Connecticut attorney Mary Alice Leonhardt that
would evidence an unlawful
effort to utilize a civilian attorney as a retaliator against Dr. Eric
Gluck in order to
circumvent the Boxer-McDermott Whistleblower Protection
Law which serves to protect military whistleblowers.
I affirm
that I will pay photocopying charges of any documents that you
provide to me under the Freedom of Information Act.
Respectfully,
STEPHEN
WHITLOCK SMITH, MD
Lieutenant Colonel, US Army Medical Corps Retired, 8103 Steilacoom Blvd SW
PMB#28, Lakewood,
WA 98498
TEL: (253) 576-6746
swstelemd@aol.comwww.stephenwhitlocksmith.org
Senator Joe Lieberman
Attention: Judge
Clarine Nardi Riddle
ClarineNardi_Riddle@lieberman.senate.govFAX (202) 224-9750
Senator Barbara Boxer
Attention: senator@boxer.senate.govFAX (415) 956-6701
Congressman Jim McDermott
Attention: Ms Anne Grady
anne.grady@mail.house.govFAX (202) 225-6197
Dr. Eric Gluck, MD
ESGLTCOM@aol.comDr. Henry Butler, MD
hbutler@pol.net
19 April 2007
Defense Hotline
Mr. Leonard Trahan, Jr., Director,
Defense Hotline
800-424-9098 (e-mail: hotline@dodig.mil)
Subject: Freedom of Information Act Request on behalf of Dr. Eric Gluck, MD, former US Navy Surgeon
In accordance with Freedom of Information Act Section 846 (Safeguarding of military whistleblowers) of Public Law No.
100-456, otherwise known as the Boxer-McDermott Whistleblower Protection Law, I make this request.
As one of Dr. Eric Gluck's official witnesses who has of today's date still not been contacted by US Navy Inspector
General investigators and personnel who report to same, I request documents relating to the continuing delay in interviewing
Dr. Gluck's witnesses from the date and time of Monday 21 June 2004 at 1400 hours when Dr. Gluck and his witnesses including
myself met with Dr. Michelle McMurry, MD, PhD, Medical Consultant to Senator Lieberman, and Judge Clarine Nardi Riddle, Senator
Lieberman's Chief of Staff at 706 Hart Office Building, Washington, DC 20510.
I request all letters, memoranda, emails, notes, of all forms of communication electronic, recorded, and photocopied,
between current Navy Surgeon General Admiral Donald Arthur and US Navy Inspector General personnel and those investigators
and coordinators reporting to the Navy IG, including Jill Vines Loftus, Deputy Navy IG, LCDR Carolyn M. Medina, NME IG Coordinator,
LT Jeremy D. Wilkinson, MSC, USNR Naval Health Care New England, and Connecticut attorney Mary Alice Leonhardt that would
evidence an unlawful effort to circumvent, defeat, delay, discredit, prevent, or otherwise disrupt Dr. Eric Gluck's complaint
against current Navy Surgeon General Admiral Donald Arthur in order to allow Admiral Arthur to retire in order to avoid prosecution.
Furthermore, I request all letters, memoranda, emails, notes, of all forms of communication electronic, recorded, and
photocopied, between current Navy Surgeon General Admiral Donald Arthur, his subordinates and Connecticut attorney Mary Alice
Leonhardt that would evidence an unlawful effort to utilize a civilian attorney as a retaliator against Dr. Eric Gluck in
order to circumvent the Boxer-McDermott Whistleblower Protection Law which serves to protect military whistleblowers.
I affirm that I will pay photocopying charges of any documents that you provide to me under the Freedom of Information
Act.
Respectfully,
STEPHEN WHITLOCK SMITH, MD
Lieutenant Colonel, US Army Medical Corps Retired, 8103 Steilacoom Blvd SW PMB#28, Lakewood, WA 98498
TEL: (253) 576-6746
swstelemd@aol.com
www.stephenwhitlocksmith.org
Senator Joe Lieberman
Attention: Judge Clarine Nardi Riddle
ClarineNardi_Riddle@lieberman.senate.gov
FAX (202) 224-9750
Senator Barbara Boxer
Attention: senator@boxer.senate.gov
FAX (415) 956-6701
Congressman Jim McDermott
Attention: Ms Anne Grady
anne.grady@mail.house.gov
FAX (202) 225-6197
Dr. Eric Gluck, MD
ESGLTCOM@aol.com
Dr. Henry Butler, MD
hbutler@pol.net
Senator Lieberman asked the Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter (703-697-2525) to investigate
allegations of mail fraud, witness tampering, collusive defamation, and risks to patients at a navy hospital (Groton) and
a civilian hospital under contract to the navy (Backus Hospital, Norwich).
The case is known to Donald Arthur M.D., J.D., Ph.D.,
the surgeon general, at 202-762-3701. I have discussed it with him three times, beginning in December, 2000, as a miscarriage
of justice. I have twice asked the DOD Inspector General to investigate. Over 15 months have passed. The
DOD IG passed the investigation to to the Navy IG. The Navy IG, in the persons of LT Wilkinson, Medical Service Corps,
and Lieutenant Commander Carolyn M. Medina, has refused to take the testimony of Dr. Gluck's witnesses, including myself.
I have reported this to congressmen. In my opinion, a cover up also known as an Obstruction of Justice may be underway:
It doesn't take 15 months to investigate anything as simple as this, but it does take that long to cover it up.
Henry E. Butler III M.D., FACS
Commander, USNR (Ret.)
18 April 2007
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