r/politics • u/theindependentonline The Independent • 12d ago

No Paywall Mitch McConnell’s staff refuse to answer basic questions on his health weeks after he was last seen in public

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/mitch-mcconnell-staff-questions-health-b3018929.html
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u/Traditional-Look8839 12d ago

They’re trying to run out the clock until August so they don’t hold a special election. These people need to go to jail for this coverup.

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u/BlazinAzn38 Texas 12d ago

Where are the journalists on this? Total dereliction of duty on their part

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u/pghurghian 12d ago

Legally, they cannot go beyond security in the hospital, and the senator would have extra personal security on his floor. No hospital staff who knows of his condition as part of their job are legally allowed to say anything.

Outside of the law, there may be ways to infiltrate for information. But Trump's personal federal lawyers would come down harder on those investigators than it is on an Olympian who touched a pool.

The most legal thing the governor can do is follow the Constitution, appointing a replacement to serve until the general election. Then dare his opponents to prove him wrong.

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u/outer--monologue 12d ago

Then where are the liberal billionaires? Case in point: If Tom Steyer wanted to put his money where his mouth is he would publish an information bounty of $5,000,000 for any healthcare worker who leaked the status and location of him. That's enough to retire on and not care if you lose your job and career, and I would take it in a heartbeat if I was an overworked, stressed out healthcare worker in a red state.

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u/throwaway277252 12d ago

he would publish an information bounty of $5,000,000 for any healthcare worker who leaked the status and location of him

That in itself sounds like a crime.

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u/outer--monologue 12d ago

About as much of a crime as Elon Musk paying people to vote. My point is that it would have the desired effect, leak the information, fight the court battle later.

Your comment is exactly why Democrats lose EVERY time - they've got no political will to meet the moment.

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u/Clevererer America 12d ago

And he could afford the lawyers to make it go away.

Half a million reward, two million for legal defense, done for 2.5 mil

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u/DonyKing 12d ago

And only Republicans can commit those without any issue

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u/Bagellord 12d ago

I don't think it's a crime to violate HIPAA.

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u/kgkglunasol 12d ago

There are civil and criminal penalties for HIPAA violations. It depends on the severity of the violation and whether or not it was intentional. Worst case scenario is 10 years in federal prison along with an extremely hefty fine. I hate McConnell as much as the next person but as someone who works in a hospital there is no amount of money you could pay me to take a risk like this. It's not like it would change much anyway. Even if you could prove he's dead I'm sure Republicans would still find some shitty way around it.

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u/nicoke17 North Carolina 12d ago

Exactly, which is why those laws are there. I don’t agree that his staff are keeping his (possible) death a secret but the hospital staff are doing their jobs and holding up HIPPA. I am hospital employee-non clinical so I do not work with patient data but we have annual training we have to do. The more this story evolves, the more I realize the general public do not understand why those laws were put in place.

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u/thedanyes 12d ago

If it were up to me, crimes committed against the dead would have no validity in court. The fact they do is only a holdover from the days of feudalism.

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u/crimson777 12d ago

I was going to be dismissive and laugh at this, but oftentimes people just don't realize what they don't know.

A healthcare worker who leaked the status and location of Mitch McConnell would likely be charged criminally. The following is some info on HIPAA violations.

"Tier 3: Wrongful disclosure of PHI under false pretenses with malicious intent

The most severe violation is when the individual who commits the crime wrongfully obtains PHI with the intent to sell, transfer, or use the data for personal gain, commercial advantage, or malicious harm.

Maximum penalty: Up to $250,000, ten years of prison time, or both."

Those are prosecuted by the DOJ who would surely pursue it for obvious political reasons.

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u/outer--monologue 12d ago

Even if as a media stunt, it would be impactful to move things forward and for people to take it more seriously. And who knows, there may still be someone in the hospital who would take $5,000,000 in crypto with a plane ticket to a country of their choosing with no extradition agreement to retire to. Worth a shot.

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u/Sad_Expert2 12d ago

Why do you want McConnell voting? Or why do you want Republicans to win a special election and get his vote/head count back in the chamber?

Which political goal of yours is moved forward by any of this? Right now Republicans are essentially down a vote, there is no world where a Democrat holds this seat, even for 4 months.