VA Secretary on the congressional hot seat

WASHINGTON—The former Army general who has been heading the Veterans Administration since the beginning of the Obama presidency tells a Senate committee that in his view, systematic cooking of the VA’s books to make patient wait times appear far shorter than they actually are is rare.

In his first congressional appearance since CNN Investigations Correspondent Drew Griffin first began reporting on the problem, Eric Shinseki says there’s evidence it’s happened “in a couple of cases” but told senators these were isolated incidents. A former VA doctor tells CNN that in his view, false stacking of those waiting lists has led to perhaps as many 40 deaths.

Drew’s reporting for AC360° continues tonight and a Democratic member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee says it’s high time the FBI began its own investigation.