HIPAA Hypocrisy From Trump, GOP and Even Journalists

I long ago accepted hypocrisy was something common in politics. Still, it took a while to accept the stunning level of hypocrisy that Republicans have grown capable of. It’s part of their DNA. But since Trump came on the scene it’s grown to breathtakingly staggering heights. What’s been harder for me to accept is how compliant those who purport to be major news outlets and journalists would roll over and become compliant. And increasingly complicit.  The lack on journalist’s part to HOUND Trump and Republicans to permit the doctors and staff in Butler, PA to give a full account complete with records is as great a failure of the security bubble that failed to prevent the shooting. Two words keep running through my mind – Cover Up. Mix that into the bowl containing the Trump/GOP hypocrisy about President Biden’s medical history and records with their HIDING Trump’s and whatever is being baked up for the public to consume is one nasty “cow pie.”

Even though President Biden has been open with release of medical information and records the GOP demands more. Yet they are allowing Trump to hide behind HIPAA to prevent us from learning for sure what video and pictures of is rally show – Trump got a (luckily for him) minor ear wound.  Given the fact that an actual bullet (if that’s what caused the wound) is a terrifying and serious thing Trump wound up with the kind of “owie” mom’s would slap a band aid on once they got the bleeding stopped (head wounds to tend to bleed and often quite a bit) methinks Trump wants to turn himself into Jesus’ second coming. And we saw that play out at the convention. AND we’ve seen new outlets and their “talent” mostly go along with it.

Some have evoked the difference in disclosure of medical information when Reagan was shot and when Trump was shot. Or “shot” – Reagan took a bullet to his chest cavity while Trump had his ear grazed by a bullet. (Or something. Not glass from the teleprompter for sure but there are other possible sources of shrapnel and four cops hear him were wounded the same moment Trump was) With Reagan information about his condition was as can be expected confused in the initial minutes but we quickly started getting pretty accurate information from his doctors/the hospital. Back then it was the norm – the country and the world needed to know and so if not every single detail we got a pretty good running picture of Reagan’s far more serious wound and condition. Contrast that with what’s been revealed about Trump’s. Trump and Republicans have DEMANDED every single word of every single medical record related to President Biden going back to before he became President and have being doing so for a long time. With Trump it’s been crickets from the hospital and doctors who treated him after the incident. The HYPOCRISY stinks to high heaven.

There is of course a law passed in the mid-1990s that accounts for the difference in information flow I described above. It’s the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA.  Among it’s provisions is one protecting patients Protected Health Information (PHI) and providers take it seriously  – as they should.  It gets technical and of course complicated (before being forced into early retirement I had to train/certify direct care workers for Developmentally Disable Adults and HIPAA was one of the things they had to learn) but let’s keep things simple. PHI such as a Presidential Candidate getting wounded, even a flesh wound (which of course if it was in fact a bullet could have resulted in something far, far worse) can’t be discussed or released without the patient’s (in this case Trump) permission.

Now, as I said there are in fact exceptions to disclosure.  Insurance companies for example. Patients (or someone they’ve authorized to do so) typically sign a waiver that in the fine print gives authority to share information with certain entities – without having to disclose each and every one once the request is made and/or complied with. Still, to put it in terms you’d relate to if you say get knocked out from a fall or other mishap and pass out you might go to your doctor to get checked out. To bill your insurer they will share the information but absent you giving them specific permission to tell others, whether mutual friend (let’s say you live in a small town) or your boss they are in deep doo-doo if they go blabbing.

Trump might well have been killed if indeed a bullet nicked his ear. A couple of inches (if that much) to the right and much of his head would have blown off. (I decided against inserting the actual video of JFK but you can watch it here) However we know that Trump’s ear, his ear was grazed or nicked.  There’s a picture of him coming down the steps of his plane back in NJ after the hospital released him and I don’t know how to add pictures to articles (I’ve tried) with our software but if you scroll down the front page of Politizoom it’s the title pic of a recent article of mine. THAT bandage, applied by the doctors that actually treated his wound is an inch, perhaps an an and a half square!  Not even close to the YUGE ‘Ear Diaper’ bandage Trump began sporting when he showed up at the convention.

We now have disgraced former WH physician Ronny Jackson’s statement about Trump’s wound and his ongoing care. The now Congress Critter rushed to be with Trump and again be his doctor despite not being licensed to do so. He gave up his medical license although technically retains a Military one since he’s a retired officer (officers are never truly and completely retired but that’s a longer topic) but there’s a catch. His license to practice medicine, in other words take over for the time being as Trump’s personal doctor (it’s not like his constituents have ever gotten any actual service from him other than sucking up to Trump. And they’re fine with that!) he’s only licensed to provide care in a military facility. Like a military or VA hospital or clinic. Trump’s Bedminster club doesn’t qualify. Nor does his plane despite him calling it Trump Force One like it’s part of the Presidential fleet. (FYI those planes, the ones we see actual Presidents fly in have not just a medical section but an operating room!)

The Washington Post tells us Trump has allowed the release of a “detailed” (? – to paraphrase a line from Blazing Saddles ‘We don’t see no stinking details’) statement on his treatment and condition. Well, since it’s Ronny Jackson I for one have doubts. Oh to hell with it. I wouldn’t trust this guy as far as I could throw Trump’s fat old orange ass. Since I’m an old, disable and yes fat (white, not orange) guy myself the most I could do is knock him on his ass if he had the balls to consent to a fist fight which of course he doesn’t. Note to Trump. I have serious balance problems an fall regularly but if you’re up for a go I’ll toss my cane well the hell away before shuffling up to arm’s reach!

You all remember Jackson’s statements back in the day about how Trump was the most awesomely physically fit and mentally sharp person he’d ever given a physical to. More awesome he was sure than any person in human history!  With genes so good he will live to be a couple hundred years old even.  Frankly when it comes to “Doctor’ Jackson I can’t help but do a variation on an old joke about lawyer’s lying – Question: How do you know when Ronnie Jackson is LYING? Answer: When he’s talking about Trump’s health!

If Putin envies Trump one thing, it’s that he doesn’t have a personal physician who can spread the bullsh!t to the masses about him the way Jackson has and will keep doing with Trump.  So let’s return to where we started.  Trump has put a LOCK DOWN on ANY release of information from the hospital and doctors that actually saw him after the shooting. They’ve been allowed to admit he was treated and evaluated to ensure no other injuries and released.  That’s it. And that’s ALL Trump is going to allow. He’s got his story that got pushed last week at the convention and which Jackson will be out there repeating over and over again and he’s sticking to it. With a freaking Ear Diaper on the side of his head instead of a band aid which at this point would be all that’s needed to ward off infection.

We have had Republicans including Congressional asshats like Jordan and Comer who head powerful committees demanding all manner of records from President Biden even though he’s always permitted his doctors to release detail statements and reports after any visit or evaluation like a comprehensive physical.

We also have a news business that refuses to every day call out this hypocrisy.  Oh, they are only too happy to talk about lots of things including President Biden’s age and offer plenty of questions about HIS physical and mental fitness while not giving Trump anywhere near the same level of scrutiny on an almost daily basis like they’ve done with Biden going back long before the debate. They are (and rightly so) digging in relentlessly on the multi-level security breakdown in Butler that allowed the shooting. Although curiously none of the national media has picked up on and dug into a local story about four motorcycle cops near Trump who were injured with shrapnel at the same time Trump sustained his wound. I wonder why?

Actually I don’t. They either want to help Trump hype HIS version of events or are SCARED to stand up to him and be actual journalists seeking and and reporting facts and the truth.  If it’s the latter we’ve seen this before when the news biz was afraid to stand up to Bush 43 in the runup to the invasion of Iraq. Look at how that cowardice then turned out.

Given the MSNBC flip-flop (even MSNBC!) between right after Trump’s speech Thursday night to Friday morning it’s clear – we have to be extra careful about trusting what we hear/read from “mainstream” news outlets.

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