The notorious CEO of a failed hospital system is suing an entire Senate committee, holding him in contempt of Congress in civil and criminal charges passed unanimously by the Senate last week.
in Federal lawsuit filed MondaySteward CEO Ralph de la Torre claimed the senators had “overreached”. [his] They tried to “mocker and crucify him as a disgusting criminal” on the “television circus.”
In July, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), led by Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont), issued an unusual subpoena to Delatorre to testify before lawmakers. forced me to do it. They sought to question the CEO about the deterioration of the hospital system, which previously included more than 30 hospitals across eight states. Steward filed for bankruptcy in May.
patient at risk
The commission alleges that Mr. de la Torre and Mr. Steward’s executives made millions of dollars in personal profits by hollowing out the medical facility and even selling off the land beneath it. The mismanagement placed them under such financial strain that one doctor at a Steward-owned hospital in Louisiana said they were forced to practice “Third World medicine.” A state lawmaker who investigated conditions at the hospital described Steward executives as “medical terrorists.”
Additionally, 15 patients have suffered avoidable deaths and more than 2,000 others are said to be in “imminent danger” due to the financial strain on hospitals. Hundreds of health-care workers were laid off and communities were left without care as hospitals cut services, closed wards, or closed altogether. Nurses who remained in unstable facilities testified to dire conditions, including a lack of basic supplies such as beds. At a hospital in Massachusetts, nurses were forced to place the remains of a newborn in a cardboard box for shipping after Steward failed to pay a vendor for the funeral boxes.
Meanwhile, records show Mr. de la Torre and his company have been paid at least $250 million in recent years, and Mr. de la Torre bought a 190-foot yacht for $40 million. It is said that he did. Steward also owned two private jets worth a combined $95 million.
Delatorre initially agreed to testify before the committee at a Sept. 12 hearing, but the wealthy CEO recanted his statement a week earlier. He claimed that a federal court order related to the bankruptcy case prevented him from speaking on the matter. Additionally, he exercised his Fifth Amendment rights to avoid self-incrimination.
The HELP Committee rejected Mr. de la Torre’s argument that the President still had relevant matters to discuss without violating the order and that he could not be subpoenaed by his Fifth Amendment rights. He said that refusing to appear before parliament is not allowed. However, the CEO was absent, so the Senate proceeded with the contempt charges.
“This isn’t going to work.”
In a lawsuit filed today, Delatorre claims senators are trying to punish him for exercising his constitutional rights and that the hearings were “just a device for the committee to attack.” ” he claimed. [him] And they try to publicly shame and criticize him. ”
The complaint said Mr. de la Torre had a “distinguished career marked by numerous accomplishments” and accused the senators of portraying him as a “villain or scapegoat.”[ing] sued him over company problems, even those caused by systemic flaws in Massachusetts’ health care system.” If he had appeared at the Congressional hearing, he would have waived his constitutional rights. Without being forced to do so, he would not have been able to defend himself against personal attacks. claims the lawsuit.
“In fact, the committee has made it abundantly clear that it respects Dr. de la Torre’s call. [of the Fifth Amendment] itself the centerpiece of their televised circus, depicting him as guilty of remaining silent in the face of these attacks on his character and integrity,” the lawsuit states. are.
De La Torre is asking a federal court to quash the Senate committee’s subpoena, hold both contempt charges, and have the Senate committee declare that it violated his Fifth Amendment rights.
Outside lawyers are skeptical that such a thing will happen. Stan M. Brand, an attorney who represented former Trump staffer Peter Navarro in his contempt of Congress case, said the lawsuit is a “Hail Mary play.” Delatorre’s lawsuit “has very little chance of success. I would say it has no chance of success at all.” Brand told the Boston Globe.
“Every time someone has tried to sue directly in the House or Senate to challenge a congressional subpoena, the courts have said, ‘That’s not the way to do it,'” Brand said.
