{"id":2412892,"date":"2025-03-12T17:30:01","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T21:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/va-sec-collins-blasts-media-hacktivists-anti-doge-hatchet-job\/"},"modified":"2025-03-12T17:30:01","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T21:30:01","slug":"va-sec-collins-blasts-media-hacktivists-anti-doge-hatchet-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/va-sec-collins-blasts-media-hacktivists-anti-doge-hatchet-job\/","title":{"rendered":"VA Sec. Collins Blasts Media Hacktivist&#8217;s Anti-DOGE Hatchet Job"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fva-sec-collins-blasts-media-hacktivists-anti-doge-hatchet-job%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2412892&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4HuUICs0uOE\">The Washington Examiner\/YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/12\/innuendo-and-rumor-stories-va-secretary-collins-blasts-media-hacktivists-anti-doge-hatchet-job\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=%E2%80%98Innuendo%20And%20Rumor%20Stories%E2%80%99:%20VA%20Secretary%20Collins%20Blasts%20Media%20Hacktivist%E2%80%99s%20Anti-DOGE%20Hatchet%20Job&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/12\/innuendo-and-rumor-stories-va-secretary-collins-blasts-media-hacktivists-anti-doge-hatchet-job\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=%E2%80%98Innuendo%20And%20Rumor%20Stories%E2%80%99:%20VA%20Secretary%20Collins%20Blasts%20Media%20Hacktivist%E2%80%99s%20Anti-DOGE%20Hatchet%20Job&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/12\/innuendo-and-rumor-stories-va-secretary-collins-blasts-media-hacktivists-anti-doge-hatchet-job\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/12\/innuendo-and-rumor-stories-va-secretary-collins-blasts-media-hacktivists-anti-doge-hatchet-job\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=%E2%80%98Innuendo%20And%20Rumor%20Stories%E2%80%99:%20VA%20Secretary%20Collins%20Blasts%20Media%20Hacktivist%E2%80%99s%20Anti-DOGE%20Hatchet%20Job&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/12\/innuendo-and-rumor-stories-va-secretary-collins-blasts-media-hacktivists-anti-doge-hatchet-job\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>First, it was ABC&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/14\/do-you-hear-yourself-vance-blasts-abc-host-for-trivializing-violent-gang-invasion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Martha Raddatz<\/a>. Then, it was CBS&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/27\/unshakable-j-d-vance-destroys-margaret-brennan-on-face-the-nation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Margaret Brennan<\/a>. And now, Military.com&rsquo;s Patricia Kime is the latest member of the propaganda press to get a well-deserved scolding from the Trump administration for masquerading her left-wing activism as reporting. <\/p>\n<p>The moment came during a newly released sit-down <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolitics.com\/video\/2025\/03\/12\/va_secretary_tells_journalist_i_need_you_to_commit_to_not_report_rumors_began_circulating.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">exchange<\/a> between Kime and Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins. The former congressman was <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/02\/04\/senate-confirms-doug-collins-as-americas-next-veterans-affairs-secretary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sworn into<\/a> the position last month following a bipartisan vote in the U.S. Senate. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1902967171\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;I need your help on something. I need your help because all I seem to be doing lately is fighting back against innuendo and rumor stories,&rdquo; Collins told Kime. &ldquo;In fact, Patricia, part of it is with you.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The VA secretary took specific aim at a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.military.com\/daily-news\/2025\/02\/05\/elon-musk-aide-now-working-va-and-accessing-its-computer-systems.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Feb. 5 story<\/a> authored by Kime titled, &ldquo;Elon Musk Aide Is Now Working at VA and Accessing Its Computer Systems.&rdquo; Citing unconfirmed reports, the Military.com reporter wrote in her piece that, &ldquo;Rumors began circulating Tuesday that DOGE representatives visited the VA on Tuesday with an intent to mine data on disability compensation and benefits.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Passing what appeared to be a copy of the article to Kime, Collins criticized the so-called &ldquo;journalist&rdquo; for sensationalizing<strong> <\/strong>the<strong> <\/strong>unconfirmed rumors about the VA&rsquo;s operations and asked her to commit to not publish similarly shoddy work in the future.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;When you start headlines with &lsquo;there&rsquo;s a rumor going around,&rsquo; and &hellip; &lsquo;we&rsquo;ve heard that,&rsquo; that hurts my veterans. That scares my veterans. That scares my employees, because it&rsquo;s not true,&rdquo; Collins said. &ldquo;Will you commit to not doing that in the future?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Well, there was a DOGE representative [at the VA] that day,&rdquo; Kime replied.<\/p>\n<p>The VA secretary quickly shot back, saying that he has &ldquo;a VA employee who is our DOGE liaison,&rdquo; and that Kime &ldquo;knew that, and could ask that question.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Nobody hid that from you. Nobody. We answered it, but it was reported as a rumor,&rdquo; Collins later added.<\/p>\n<p>In her poorly written hatchet job, Kime cited comments from VA Press Secretary Pete Kasperowicz, who said that the agency has a single DOGE official who is &ldquo;specifically focused on identifying wasteful contracts, improving VA operations and strengthening management of the department&rsquo;s IT projects.&rdquo; Despite confirming that this DOGE employee &ldquo;will not have access to veterans&rsquo; or VA beneficiaries&rsquo; data,&rdquo; Kasperowicz&rsquo;s comments were mentioned below the fearmongering headline and the &ldquo;rumors&rdquo; in the story.<\/p>\n<p>Collins went on to blast Kime for later including unsubstantiated Feb. 4 remarks from Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who claimed she heard DOGE &ldquo;may have barged into VA today.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Unconfirmed hearsay,&rdquo; Collins said. &ldquo;You know what you&rsquo;d have done if I was a member of Congress and probably done that? &lsquo;Unconfirmed report,&rsquo; but you didn&rsquo;t put &lsquo;unconfirmed report.&rsquo; So, Patricia, I wanna work together with you, but I need you to commit to me that you&rsquo;re not gonna do this.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"wbpcqlh5T9g2MyzHP486fm\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Reporters &ndash; Please help our Veterans by NOT spreading unconfirmed rumors, hearsay and innuendo about <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DeptVetAffairs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@DeptVetAffairs<\/a>. Thank you! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rZbMQn5VmY\">pic.twitter.com\/rZbMQn5VmY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; VA Secretary Doug Collins (@SecVetAffairs) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SecVetAffairs\/status\/1899576216153129187?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 11, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Kime seemed to acknowledge the VA secretary&rsquo;s criticisms were &ldquo;fair,&rdquo; before attempting to move on to a separate question without pledging to abide by Collins&rsquo; request. Collins interjected, again asking Kime to commit to &ldquo;not &hellip; do rumors.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;[Y]ou&rsquo;re scaring my VA employees about this, and you&rsquo;re scaring my veterans,&rdquo; Collins said.<\/p>\n<p>Kime tepedily agreed to Collins&rsquo; request, but then seemingly attempted to run cover for potential future hit pieces based on unsubstantiated&nbsp;claims by saying, &ldquo;a rumor is different than if I have a source.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Then you source it to our PR people and let them know,&rdquo; Collins responded. <\/p>\n<p>This eventually led to a short back and forth between the two, which resulted in Kime whining, &ldquo;I take issue with parsing out my stuff.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I want to work with you a lot as we go forward. We&rsquo;re gonna have a lot of time together. But I&rsquo;m not gonna have any reporter scaring my employees and scaring the veterans, and that&rsquo;s what this is doing,&rdquo; Collins said. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s get it right.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">   Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/department-of-veterans-affairs-2\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/doge\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Doge<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/doug-collins\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Doug Collins<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/elon-musk\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Elon Musk<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/media\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Media<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/media-lies\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Media lies<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/military-com\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Military.com<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/patricia-kime\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Patricia Kime<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/propaganda-press\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">propaganda press<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/veterans\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Veterans<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/veterans-affairs\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Veterans Affairs<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image Credit The Washington Examiner\/YouTube Share Share Article on Facebook Share Article on Twitter Share Article on Truth Social Copy Article Link Share Article via Email First, it was ABC\u2019s Martha Raddatz. Then, it was CBS\u2019s Margaret Brennan. And now, Military.com\u2019s Patricia Kime is the latest member of the propaganda press to get a well-deserved<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2412893,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Doug-Collins.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2412892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Doug-Collins.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2412892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2412892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2412892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2412893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2412892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2412892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2412892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}