Board of Veterans' Appeals Carol DiBattiste

Big Data Insider Takes Over Board Of Veterans’ Appeals

A shake-up within the Board of Veterans’ Appeals has resulted in former general counsel for big data ChoicePoint Carol DiBattiste taking over at the helm.

DiBattiste enjoyed a well-connected military and corporate career as an attorney moving from the Air Force to the Pentagon and eventually serving as Under Secretary of the Air Force under President Bill Clinton.

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As a civilian, she was a partner at Holland & Knight from 2001 to 2003. She was chief of staff and later deputy administrator in the TSA from 2003 to 2005. She later served as ChoicePoint’s general counsel until 2008 when she moved to Government Affairs at LexisNexis.

Curiously, at TSA, DiBattiste was notorious for obstructing access to data for FOIA requests. Even a privacy officer at the Department of Homeland Security was unable to get data from TSA linked to a privacy breach.

SOME BACKGROUND ON DIBATTISTE

According to eSecurityPlanet:

“DiBattiste’s name surfaced recently in emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a non-profit privacy advocacy group. In their document request, EPIC sought to uncover information about passenger records that were released by the airline JetBlue to the Defense Department, in possible violation of JetBlue’s privacy policy.

“According to the documents, the privacy officer at the Department of Homeland Security, Nuala O’Connor Kelly, was tasked with investigating the JetBlue incident, but kept getting the run around. When Ms. Kelly escalated the problems up the chain of command at TSA, the investigation continued to hit one brick wall after another.

“Frustrated, Kelly sent an email to TSA deputy administrator Carol DiBattiste in November 2003. ”I had sent my first inquiry to TSA public affairs, my second to (the agency’s risk assessment office), but information has not been forthcoming,” Kelly wrote. ”This is particularly disturbing… We’re getting better information from outside then we have from our own folks at this time.”

“DiBattiste’s helpful response? ”TSA Public Affairs has no information in response to your request.” Indeed, it would seem that ChoicePoint chose well, particularly if its goal is to avoid getting to the bottom of privacy problems.

“Unfortunately, the reality is that DiBattiste was mostly likely chosen not for any privacy expertise but for her ability to smooth any feathers among her former TSA colleagues that ChoicePoint’s recent disasters might have ruffled.

“You see, government agencies like the Department of Homeland Security and the TSA represent a huge market for ChoicePoint’s products, so whitewashing their privacy problems is clearly going to be a top priority. And for nearly a million dollars in total compensation, their new Chief Privacy Officer will be able to afford a lot of paint brushes.

“The larger lesson to be learned from comparing these two hires comes from seeing the contrasting approaches of Google and ChoicePoint. In my estimation, Google chose somebody who could help them engage deeply in the thorny issues facing them, while ChoicePoint opted for a government insider whose recent trip through the revolving door gives them the best opportunity to wave away past mistakes with the secret handshake.”

Source: https://www.esecurityplanet.com/views/article.php/3498606/Privacy-Lessons-A-Tale-of-Two-Jobs.htm

ChoicePoint apparently paid DiBattiste a starting salary of $900k plus bonuses.

In 2016, Wikipedia of all places reported that DiBattiste would take over as Executive in Charge of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. That is quite a pay cut, right, going from $900k to $180k. So what is behind the move?

BOARD OF VETERANS APPEALS CHANGE

The backdrop of the story is that DiBattiste was hired as a consultant to evaluate the Board of Veterans Appeals because of longstanding problems there.

Apparently, the working environment at the Board was so toxic that attorneys and employees flooded her office with reports of massive dysfunction.

DiBattiste is rumored to have written a report calling the Board the most dysfunctional organization she has ever evaluated. No doubt such a claim carries some clout given her extensive experience within practically every type of major organization imaginable.

President Obama gave her the nod to take on the massive role even though it is just for the next few months. Perhaps they are grooming her for a bigger slot if Hillary Clinton wins the election.

LAURA ESKENAZI DEPARTURE LETTER

As for the Board, she is taking the place of Laura Eskenazi. On Monday, Eskenazi wrote the following email to her staff:

“Board Team –

“Three years and one month ago, I was appointed as your Vice Chairman and Executive in Charge by Secretary Shinseki. To mirror the words of President Obama last week, I am ready to pass the baton. This will be my last week at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. Carol DeBattiste will head the Board.

“The past three years as Vice Chairman / Executive in Charge were phenomenal in so many ways. The challenges we faced as organization, and the resilience we demonstrated could not have happened without a great team by my side – a team that I will miss. I was so proud to represent you all before other great leaders in the Department, stakeholders, members of Congress, and even a few brief handshakes with the President himself. As I move on, others will rise to the occasion with new energy, and the Board’s journey will continue to evolve into an exciting new future. The new President, whichever candidate is elected, will successfully name a Board Chairman. Having served for three years in the shoes of the Chairman (or Chairwoman!) while simultaneously serving as Vice Chairman, I think I can safely recommend picking a separate person for each of those big roles! (By the way, I am fairly certain that I am the first woman to have served in either of those roles … we have sure come a long way!!

“Thank you for the opportunity to learn with you. As I have said to many of you over the years, leadership is a humbling experience – and if you do not feel humility, you have not truly led. I leave behind some fond memories. I wish you the best, and hope that the tenets of integrity, commitment, advocacy, respect, and excellence always shine brightly as you strive to carry out the mission of giving back to those who gave themselves in the name of freedom for our great country!

“Laura Eskenazi

So is there more to the story? Is DiBattiste there to improve the Board despite having zero experience handling veterans claims, or is she there to push through some other agenda?

UPDATE

DiBattiste called to discuss her new position the day this was published. She made one correction. There is no “official” report and she did not think the Board is the “most dysfunction” organization she has ever seen.

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36 Comments

  1. She also is also on the board of education management corp (edmc) which owns several for-profit (scam) colleges. Edmc was recently forced to pay $95.5 Million to Settle Claims of Illegal Recruiting, Consumer Fraud and Other Violations. She earns $2,190,140 as a board member.

  2. Carole Dibatiste has a unique ability to abandon a ship just before it hits an iceburg.

  3. I like a fool after I won my claim against the VA for trying to kill me in 2014 the VA settle with me for 137000for malpractice. then it happened to me again believe it or not but the lawyer I had said he didn’t want to handle it this time but they tried to kill me again they admitted it I made a mistake it was a drug but I know you can’t see them for a drug but it’s what they were treating me for his the malpractice I want also want to sue the drug company very hard to do I will file my own tort claim if I can’t find anybody it’s really not that big of a deal after I saw Alabama lawyers. But the drug companies the one I’m going to have to go after anybody know how I could do that anyways just thought I’d talk about it thank you

  4. I just read today that POTUS sent a plane full of money on pallets to Iran. $400,000,000. First payment of a deal.

    I wonder what they did to get such a big Peace of that Prize? Perhaps our new data savy friend knows how all that went down, eh? Hmmmm, a lame duck is shipping pallets of money to people we normally associate with bad things, appointments are happening at an accellerated rate, and OIG vows that they will not tolerate hanky panky.

    In a logic test they would ask you what item doesn’t fit?

    1. redturtle984, did you notice all that money was made up of other countries currency!
      I also read where, “If” it’s NOT a ransom, then what was it for exactly?
      In the same article, and on 96.5 FM, (my favorite conservative news station), Iran will be receiving a total of $1.7 billion. On top of the $150 billion guaranteed by Obama and (Cowardly Kerry)! The “master mind” of the “Iran Deal”!

      1. Brings back recollections of massive pallets of U.S. Cash shipped to Iraq in the early days of these wars.
        The USA supposedly does not negotiate with terrorists but yet, this Iran Deal is exactly that.

  5. Well if it looks like a fish and smells like fish I would assume it is a fish.

    We have the proper bait for it and i think the last few comments were considered knibbles.

    So by those comments we are suppose just calm down and accept this appointment as a good thing.

    I don’t mind giving anyone a chance to prove they will make it better. But as mentioned before the VA is so proud of itself for cutting down the backlog numbers and patting themselves on the back. Only thing as mentioned before is that the passed the baton on to the courts to resolve. I would like to think that this new appointee is coming in help sort it out and get things resolved for the better of veterans.

    Now this is not the end of the VA telling everyone they cut the backlog list down. As those cases have been turned over to the VBA and now they have to review it and send all those claims right back to the RO’s and have them do it again. So all they did was just extend the time of the claim and hoping that the veteran will die and their family will not have clue what to do.

    So we will be right back in the same backlog list once it is sent back to the RO for them look it over and do it again. I have a Claim that is under DRO Review right now and he is suppose to give his SOC (Statement of Case) sometime this week. Or so I thought and just now they sent me a letter stating they just received my NOD about some original conditions that were secondary to my disability. And this is from September 2015 for the April Appeal that is suppose to be finished this week. So now he will not make a decision on my Appeal that is already complete and ready for SOC.

    So I see now that with her appointment that she has chance to fix the VA Titantic Cruise Ship.

    I never wish anyone bad things and I hope she can change things for the better of veterans and not for the advancement of VA Power or Politicians.

  6. Umm….15 years ago I took a 33% pay cut to come work for the VA because I wanted a mission, not just a paycheck. So, hopefully that would be her goal.

    At the Executive Level, do they really need to know how to process the appeal or do they just know how to make the appeals process go faster and smoother with better accuracy? Leadership hires smart people and then turns it over to them to manage.

    Again, I am hopeful that this hire, which likely had to be approved by the Secretary, is part of his vision to make the VA a premier service agency for veterans.

    1. McDonald has a “vision”…? It seems his vision is mostly cloudy with a very large chance of hail and brimstone.

      Unicorn and fairy dust farts. Expected.

    2. very well said.
      Let’s hope that little, honorably intentioned changes have a positive effect on VA executive management. Let us encourage her to accept and define her mission for the betterment of all veterans.

    3. Leadership hires smart people? I wish I could agree that was rain rather than you pissing down my neck.
      So you think leadership hired a smart person in Agent Orange denier Tom Murphy? He must be smart because he knows something about AO exposure that directly contradicts YEARS of medical research on it.
      How about David McLenachen? Were he and Murphy smart when they signed a FAST letter 13-10 that put current dates on claims rather than the dates they were received? I guess from a VA thug perspective, they were smart in saving the VA millions of dollars after defrauding veterans of disability pay.
      Or how about Daniel Devine? Was Murphy smart in hiring him? Devine was so smart he decided to lie under oath to the VA IG. Again, from a VA thug perspective, I guess he was smart since he was caught lying which was only referred for administrative action rather than firing and prosecution, then promoted into his new position 6 years later.
      Who was the smart person who hired all these smart hospital directors who came up with the wait list scheme so they could get bonuses?

      Clearly it’s not raining. All I see are corrupt thieves.

  7. NEWS: Remember when I recently mentioned to watch the commutes and pardons Obama gives out?

    “[WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama commuted the prison sentences of 214 individuals on Wednesday, the most grants of clemency in a single day since at least 1900, the White House said.

    Obama has now granted a total of 562 commutations during his presidency, it said.]”

    “”https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/obama-commutes-prison-sentences-of-214-individuals/ar-BBvd0Gm?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=AARDHP””

    1. Added thought: The way I view it, our current POTUS gave a FREE PASS or “Commute” via his DOJ Loretta Lynch, when they refused to prosecute or even feel the VA Scandal Shit “warranted” further investigation…they let them go. Same difference.

      This is only the start of potential unwinding balls of wax in Obama’s last months. Wait for the list of Thugs on the his Pardon List and many more Commutes.

      Not the ‘Change I Can Believe In’. Where ARE THE BALLS these days to actually TAKE ACTION?! They are in each of the corner pocket$ of someone named ‘George Soros’ and others, no doubt and whomever David “little” Cox, AFGE Pres. takes his marching orders to.

      Follow the damn $$$$.

      Rant Out.

    1. The founding fathers recognized that mankind has never entrusted power to our leaders without the power corrupting them. Otherwise we would not have agreed to three legs of government that changes frequently in terms of individuals. The idea was that new blood would identify and rectify the abuse of the power given in a continuous cycle of regenerating for each successive election cycle our commitment to individual freedoms – away from the abuse of power that is normal human behavior.

      We formed a government of enumerated powers not assumed powers. This too was not a brick wall that stops men and women from assuming all sorts of power not enumerated, but it allows each successive generation an opportunity to draw a line in the sand. Like many online here post about.

      I am fed up with an agency that has assumed powers I do not want my America to give them. This is my country damnit and belongs to no other group than The People. I am one of them and my sacrifice was to forgo all my precious Constitutional protections in return for the Uniform Code of Military Justice. I gave away all my freedoms to protect Americas. America entrusted me with implements of war, and trusted that I would sacrifice all if it were necessary for America.

      This problem is difficult but not complex. There are huge mountains of cash involved. Cash to some is like wounded tune to a shark. They circle smelling the blood scent and become frenzied. It changes a relatively docile predator into frenzied feeding machine. When humans do this with cash as our politicians do the end result is always abuse of power.

      The task falls to The People of my generation to dismantle this monstrocity, and the blueprint for change was written by the guys with terrible haircuts pictured on your cash. They are there to remind you and I what men of a different age thought of abuse of power. Take out a bill and look them in the eyes.

      Try to tell them that the sacrifices each one made and was willing to make meant nothing to us. That abuse of power is ok if I get my slice of the pie too. I can’t bring myself to tell them this. The words just will not come out. Does that make me crazy, or just a veteran?

      1. I meant “wounded tuna” not “wounded tune”. I guess a wounded tune would be something Barry Manilo would sing at Christmas? Maybe it would be best to send in the sharks then lolz.

    2. I am curious what kind of power she may have to influence any cases coming before the BVA.
      Is it possible she can steer or influence certain cases that will set a precedent and take years to overcome?
      Take Agent Orange exposures and disease X cause by AO exposure. If a certain case can be ruled against setting a precedent, imagine how many other veterans are affected for years by pointing to that precedent.
      I can’t imagine why she would take such a job for what may be a year at most, if she’s allowed to stay in the job until the next President appoints someone new…unless it’s a holding position for something higher…depending on who is elected.

  8. The wife and I are at the “Ocean Front” stadium, awaiting Mr. Trump’s arrival. Will attempt to post pics of him on here later today.

  9. Over the years from time to time I get invited in to Thanksgiving with family and friends kind of like people do to the stray cats on Thanksgiving. They just seem so pathetic that kindness spills over lolz. However, this cat loves gravy!

    From time to time I bump into Bob. Bob served as the Undersecratery of the Department that makes sure the lights go on when you flip a switch under the last President. Bob is pretty smart.

    That was not Bob’s first job. Bob figured out how to isolate deadly nuclear waste into safe places for future generations. Superfund stuff. Bob figured out in another job how to get massive infrastructure built for the British government because the British leader, a well known fellow, realized they could not do it within Britain official way of getting stuff done – so they hired Bob.

    Bob also makes a goddamn good stuffing. I like Bob.

    In conversation over gravy and stuffing among other things I learned that while Bob has great intellect, wisdom, and broad experience, those who employ him (people we have heard of) often lack one, two, or all of those traits.

    Within that context, I suppose that the idea that a person like this lady has the talent to lead a massive effort is not unfathomable. She looks nothing like Bob, but I am betting her stuffing is alright. I am betting that her and Bob are both capable of highly organized and intelligent thought. They know precisely what they are doing. What is my point?

    The leaders that hire Bob do so so for one reason; They tell Bob exactly and precisely what they want. This is not something that Bob might talk about over gravy, or to the press, or to anyone, because Bob gets paid well not to. These leaders do not exist in their positions unless they have proven they are good at one thing – advancing an agenda.

    Whose agenda does any employee generally advance? Their direct supervisor’s or they get fired. Simple economics.

    1. And if you want to REALY hear about government fraud, just listen to casual talk about the days in London, and the real reasons they needed a Yankee to get their Olympic dreams built lolz. It sure puts an emphasis on why my great great great grandpa left that place! On to America!!!

  10. Here’s my opinion, for what it’s worth.

    The VA is allocated BILLIONS of taxpayers monies each year. And since the Clinton’s, those amounts keep getting more outrageous.
    Plus, no one actually knows where all of it goes.
    I believe the upper echelon of VA is pocketing much of it. If there are say, 500 (estimate) upper echelon personnel wanting a lot of money. What better place to be, but in one of the most corrupt government agencies?! The IRS and DOD racing for second and third place!

    I also believe there’s a heavy push to “coronate” Hillary Clinton as president.
    FACT, her beloved DNC has already been caught “rigging her nomination”! Since the “hacking of the DNC”, four Democrat slugs have stepped down!
    FACT, there is already proof of “voter fraud” in many states during the primaries. California, Colorado, and I believe Arizona, being the worst case scenario!
    FACT, Hillary Clinton lied to Congress. (Her husband was impeached for lying to Congress) Yet, nothing was/is being done about this today! I believe the IRS is investigating the Clinton Foundation on it not adhering to the laws, ie; improper filing of paperwork.
    FACT, There’s a great speculation the November elections will be “rigged”! ie; Allowing “illegal immigrants” to vote. Granting “Felons” the right to vote in some states. To name a couple.
    FACT, there has been “Political Hacks” come out and disparage people from voting. Because, they say the “Popular Vote does not count”! This is a true statement. There has been at least three or four times, in our history, where the ‘popular vote winner’ was not sworn into office!

    Because of the violence, corruption, fraud, waste, abuse and divisiveness among the populace to name a few. This time, I believe, the people better not only awake. They better realize how our own government is “playing” all of us as suckers!
    Saul Alinski, a “two-bit hustler and con man”, would be proud of the people in power today! Especially Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama!

    Again, we have the Clinton name arising from the ashes. Only this time it’s the wife, “The Butcher of Benghazi”, who wants the “Royal Throne” of the United States of America!
    Anyone who has been associated with them has always been “Taken Care Of”! Even IF they’ve been caught in many transgressions!

    What I see in this new “appointment”, is nothing more than a continuation of more corruption! I believe the VA is gearing up for a fight to the finish line.
    I also believe McDuck is appointing as many corrupt individuals as possible to gain so much more power. It will, in their minds, be hard to stop them!

    1. YOU SIR HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD THE BILLARRYS WANT TO THE WHITE HOUSE LIKE DOGS IN HEAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    2. Nice post but I do have something to add about your estimate. A 15 minute perusal of the opm dot gov sight shows historical employment tables. I cheated and uced CSN.com estimates that 17% of those fed folks make $180,000 per year, plus get every day on the holiday off. plus get to add a few holidays, sick days, family leave days, hungry hippo recovery days, and all the other normal benefits Americans enjoy.

      I just asked the hot sounding computer chick on my iPad, what is 17% of 340,000? She said, “It’s 57,800”.

      I am gonna run this by RAND, but I believe this means that 57,800 people at VA make a minimum of $15,000 per month before taxes to either our government or somebody elses.

      This tells me without a doubt that you are an honest man my friend. You are so,very far off from the dirty truth that you must be clean! By the way, why do we need the opm dot gov if we have RAND?

      Semper Fi

      1. @redturtle984

        I’m not understanding your last paragraph above.

        On the “amount of upper echelone”, “500 approximately”, I was writing about, were those individuals who are in the VERY, VERY top of VA. Example, those in Washington who run the administration. Also, those at the VERY, VERY top in the many “districts’ throughout America. Maybe even a very few right below them.
        These people, I believe, make much more than $200,000/year, plus many other ‘perks’. I believe the % would be closer to 5% to 8%!
        Finally, I believe most Americans and veterans are unaware of this issue!

      2. I was just musing that 50k people bring down so much green. That is more people than the total number employed by VA in the 40’s yet when I looked at the charts the total number of military employed has dropped on a straight line since then.

        I have no idea where cnn got that stat. Stats can mean anything, but usually a number like $180,000 per year that is drawfed by the top few percent earners as you say but I think you are being generous, insofar as I believe it takes more than 10 people per state to perpetuate an exposed racket as these people are doing.

        I think to pull it off properly, you need a Disruptive Behavior Committee in every city. Lots of vets like me and you are talking. This must be flagged.

  11. This woman seems to be what government type tend to refer to as “Cleaners”, much as Sloan Gibson is to Obama and the VA.
    She certainly has an extensive vitae but it’s quite obvious a HUGE pay cut to go to VA has other implications and intent. I would like to think it was for the betterment of the VA but seeing how aggressively the V.A. Titanic is changing the deck chairs and nailing them down at a time when these positions are really nothing but seat warmers at the very ass-end of Obama’s Term, it begs many unanswered questions.

    Wonder if she will be guaranteed ALL owed back pay to Veterans stuck in the BVA meat grinder, you know, to “shorten” the Appeals Backlog, which was made even larger by the VA denying massive Veteran Claims recently in order to make it “appear” that the Claims Backlog was majorly chipped away…only to be shuffled from one stack to another.

    I say this is another slight of hands by the VA Magician as entertainment on the V.A. Titanic. Later in our V.A. Titanic Cruise, we shall have the OIG Master Masturbator in a large glass box on stage for amusement at 8 p.m. on the poop deck. Mandatory attendance required. Enjoy your cruise. 🙂

    1. Those are super high-tech, color-changing glass panels on the glass box. Spared no expense on the AFGE Shipload of Fools riding the V.A. Titanic. Again, enjoy your cruise and make sure to check the box on the -1- questionnaire from RAND Corp. to ensure your satisfaction is generously rewarded later in Performance Bonuses for choosing to sail with the V.A. Titanic.

      As an added bonus, we have taken measures by the help of our AFGE Thugs, that no icebergs of Accountability shall interrupt your cruise. Sail with confidence on V.A. Titanic knowing lowly Veterans are in the hold performing only janitorial duties at best, and also serving to bail-out buckets of poo to keep the Dream Latrine afloat.

      🙂

    2. I have some experience with cleaners. Gen Charles Jacoby was one. Hillary’s personal general for Libya. Where is that missing 18 tons of gold?

      My husband owned the first website to be credited as a hit site by the Pentagon. It involved Jacoby. He managed to hold up his third star for weeks until a midnight deal was cut by Bush and Senator Levin.

      One thing about cleaners is they try to scrub the bad things out of their history. There are ways to find it and make it public. Then they try to hide for a bit and resurface after they think the public has forgotten. It is very time consuming to work at them.

  12. It is what comes next. Follow the money. She’ll get a big job at a military industrial complex company comparable to Dick Cheney’s Haliburton CEO position with the golden parachute of $20 plus million.

    And veterans will suffer at the BVA. The CVA will become overburdened.

  13. Why would you leave a roughly $1 Million job for 1/4 of the pay and 10 times the hassle. Just on casual observation there is more behind the scenes than just coming over to visit. Is there $$ Incentive Bonuses on the Yellow Brick Road or Political $$ Incentives that will surely come to happen if Hillary is Elected President?

    This is like driving a BMW to work everyday and now she has to drive a Ford Pinto. Or living in a 6 room mansion and moving into a 2 bedroom storage shed.

    I feel there is more to it than this. Is there a full disclosure of the hiring contract?

    Most likely not !!!

    So who is behind this hiring?

    Who will benefit the most from her taking over there?

    1. THEIR IS A DEAD RAT STINK TO TO THIS HIREING OF THE WOMEN BENJAMIN DO FOIA ON THE HIRING CONTRACT ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

    2. My hunch is that just prior to any lame duck Presidential election there are vast numbers of appointments made. An example of why is in fine print likely but most retirements in government are based on the posession of the highest GS rating or position held. If inly for three months, once a high GS number a person always gets that as a rating I believe.

      I think it gets much more convoluted but it would fit the known MO of this criminal organization. Let’s ask Watson when it comes on line Holmes, what do you you think?

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