Dr. Bernard
Kruger, a doctor in Manhattan, has stepped away from roles at two
concierge medicine practices after the public disclosure of his
relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy sex offender who died in a
jail cell in 2019.
The head of one
practice, the Atria Health and Research Institute, sent an email to
employees on Monday saying that Dr. Kruger had “recently retired and is
no longer involved with Atria.” He had been a part-time, nonpracticing
physician there, the email said.
A
spokeswoman for the other practice, Sollis Health, a private emergency
room, said on Friday that Dr. Kruger was on leave from the company’s
board of directors “pending a review launched by management in
consultation with external legal counsel when it became aware of Dr.
Kruger’s past interactions with Jeffrey Epstein.”
The doctor had been part of a small circle of specialists catering to
Mr. Epstein in the last decade of his life, The New York Times reported
last week.
[. . .]
Dr. Kruger was a longtime physician to
Mr. Epstein. In 2016, a private emergency room in Manhattan that he
co-founded charged Mr. Epstein $15,000 for an annual membership that
covered him and five “girls,” emails show. An accountant told Mr. Epstein
that the practice — called Priority Private Care at the time, but now
Sollis Health — did not require naming the patients, which would give
him “more flexibility.” (A spokeswoman for Sollis said names were added
later, and also said Dr. Kruger had never been a practicing physician
there.)
Dr. Kruger’s medical office in
Manhattan also appears to have allowed Mr. Epstein to book appointments
without using names. In one case in 2018, the office sought to
reschedule an appointment for “Jeffrey’s assistant” but didn’t know
which assistant. (It turned out to be a lawyer close with Mr. Epstein,
and Dr. Kruger’s spokesman said the doctor never saw patients without
knowing their identities.)
Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:
Murray: “It has
become all too clear that Republicans would rather keep DHS shut down
than work with Democrats to prevent more Americans from being killed by
masked federal agents.”
Murray: “Instead of
blocking bills to pay TSA agents—or wasting time with dead-on-arrival
legislation—Republicans should finally listen to their constituents who
want to see ICE reined in—and work with us to enact the reforms we need.
I remain ready to get it done.”
***WATCH: Senator Murray’s floor remarks***
Washington, D.C. — Today—as Republicans set up more
failed votes on the Homeland Security funding bill and drag their feet
on common-sense reforms to rein in Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—U.S. Senator Patty Murray
(D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, spoke on the
Senate floor and pushed to pass a new bill that would fund every agency
within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—except ICE, CBP, and
the Office of the Secretary—while negotiations continue to rein in ICE
and Border Patrol.
However, Senate Republicans blocked Senator Murray’s request to pass
the bill through unanimous consent—after they underscored all week that
it is imperative that Congress fund the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure
Security Agency (CISA), Transportation Security Administration (TSA),
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and other important DHS
functions.
As negotiations proceed on measures to rein in ICE and Border Patrol, the legislation Senator Murray introduced today:
- Funds FEMA, TSA, the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Secret Service, CISA, and other important DHS components.
- Excludes funding for ICE, CBP, and the Office of the Secretary.
Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered, are below:
“It has been nearly six weeks—six weeks—since Alex Pretti was
killed by masked federal agents in broad daylight. It has been over
nine weeks since Renee Good was killed.
“And day after day, week after week, we have seen Americans brutalized by an out-of-control Department of Homeland Security.
“American citizens detained without cause. Children ripped away from
their families as this administration treats them like political pawns
in their sick games. We’ve seen peaceful protestors have their windows
broken in by untrained and unidentifiable agents. And we’ve seen more people get hurt and even die because of how ICE and Border Patrol have been conducting themselves.
“And this entire time, Democrats have been pushing for serious reform to rein in these agencies.
“For months, I have been at the table, in good faith, pushing
to secure basic accountability measures for ICE and Border Patrol. We
are talking about standards local police already follow across the
country.
“But even before Alex Pretti was shot and killed, Republicans
and this White House, in particular, were telling us ‘no’ on many basic
reforms that would rein in ICE and CBP.
“We pushed for common-sense steps to make sure that poorly trained
agents and officers do not trample the basic rights of American citizens
and kill them for no reason. And we pushed for steps to prevent these
rogue agencies from hiding the facts from the public and sweeping
everything under the rug.But my colleagues across the aisle came back to
us and said, ‘Sorry, we cannot agree to those.’
“Sometimes, my Republican colleagues were willing to take one
modest step or another, which I appreciated—only to come back to say
the White House was not willing to do it and that they had to hold the
line. Or worse, they backtracked on measures we had agreed to because of
fears of what the White House would think.
“And now, here we find ourselves—nearly six weeks after Alex
Pretti’s brutal killing and Republicans have so far continued to refuse
to join us to pass any common-sense reforms to prevent more Americans
from being hurt—or even killed—by masked federal agents.
“As I have said many times: we are not asking for the moon. We are
asking for basic steps to protect Americans’ constitutional rights—and
their safety.
“There is nothing new or controversial about body cameras—or
requiring identification be displayed. There is nothing extreme about
insisting ICE and Border Patrol follow the same standards as everyone
else when it comes to use of force or needing a warrant before smashing
in someone’s door and dragging them away.
“These are common sense, and they are overwhelmingly popular. This is what the American people are demanding.
“But Republicans have decided they would rather shut down DHS than work with us to rein in these rogue agencies. Republicans know full well—Democrats want to ensure TSA, CISA, FEMA and other important agencies are funded.
“What Democrats have a problem with—is funding rogue agencies
that are actively violating court orders and our civil rights, and
putting Americans’ safety at risk. We cannot, we will not, cut a blank
check—funding without reforms—for ICE and Border Patrol.
“But if Republicans keep dragging their feet on those basic
reforms we are asking for, to protect people from these rogue federal
agencies, then we should at least make sure that TSA agents get paid,
and FEMA is fully funded while those negotiations continue.
“TSA agents should not go without pay because Republicans
refuse to agree to commonsense reforms instead of cutting another blank
check for Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller to terrorize Americans.
“So yes, let’s pay our Coast Guard and our TSA agents, let’s
replenish the Disaster Relief Fund, and support other work that we
overwhelmingly all agree on.
“I have a bill, that I will offer in a moment, that will do that, and
we can pass it right now while pressing ahead with negotiations on ICE
and Border Patrol to get basic reforms and accountability the American
people want.
“All week, I have heard my colleagues on the other side of
the aisle loudly say funding for DHS could not be more important in this
moment. They have argued the instability this President has unleashed
with his reckless war in Iran means Democrats must fund DHS—including
ICE—with no reforms at all.
“Now, there are some obvious problems with that argument—like the
bizarre notion that because Trump started a reckless war with Iran,
Democrats now must run and rush and cut ICE a blank check, or the fact
that the biggest threat to cyber and counterterrorism work at DHS seems
to be Kristi Noem who by the way, over the last year, has gutted CISA
and has taken folks off the [counter]terrorism beat to deport
farmworkers with no criminal history.
“Well put all that aside—I completely agree that we should fund our cyber defense agency, and FEMA, and TSA.
“So, I hope my Republican colleagues, who also believe, I know they
do, that these agencies are important, and who have been making the case
that they do need funding immediately—will join with me to get this
bill passed today, while talks on ICE, Border Patrol, and much-needed
reform and accountability measures can continue.
[MURRAY’S RESPONSE TO REPUBLICAN OBJECTION]
“Unfortunately, what has become very clear is that
Republicans would rather keep DHS shut down than work with Democrats to
prevent more Americans from being killed by masked federal agents.
“My Democratic colleagues and I have been very, very
clear on the reforms we need. It is not secret, and we have been
pushing for them for weeks on end—in good faith—to finalize a DHS bill
that funds TSA and FEMA while reining in ICE and CBP.
“But Republicans and the White House have—now for months—refused to
agree to the basic reforms we need to keep Americans safe. And they have
said again and again that we need to fund FEMA and TSA and other key
agencies.
“Well, I just tried to pass a bill that would make sure that
those agencies are funded—while talks on reforms and accountability
measures for ICE and Border Patrol continue—so guess what? They blocked
that too.
“This is not complicated: Democrats want to get TSA officers
paid and fund disaster relief, but we will not vote to help Republicans
spend one more dime letting Stephen Miller terrorize American cities.
“And we will not vote to cut a blank check so that ICE can barge into
Americans’ homes without a warrant. We will not vote to allow ICE
agents to continue wearing masks as they terrorize our communities and
evade accountability. We need accountability for ICE and Border Patrol.
“And it is not just Democrats saying that, the American people
overwhelmingly agree that Trump and Noem’s lawless rampage has got to
come to an end.
“People feel that way, because we have all seen
what is happening, it is in plain sight. We have all seen the videos of
people that are tackled and pepper sprayed in the face, of protesters
who are gassed for no reason.
“We have seen the horrific shootings of Renee Good and Alex
Pretti, and we have seen Kristi Noem, ICE, and Border Patrol blatantly
lie and slander people like Renee, and Alex, and Marimar Martinez by
falsely calling them domestic terrorists.
“What we have not yet seen is accountability. That has got to
end. No amount of Republican revotes on the same failed bill is going
to change that.
“And while our bill to fund the Coast Guard, and TSA, and FEMA as
negotiations continue was just objected to. So Mr. President, I am ready
at any time to pass that, it is the right thing to do.
“Instead of blocking bills to pay TSA agents—or wasting time
with dead-on-arrival legislation—I hope that Republicans will listen to
what we are asking for, listen to what their constituents are asking
for—we need to see ICE have accountability, and work with us to pass
those reforms in order to fund that full agency. With that, and with my
colleagues, I will continue to work to get that done.”
###
Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Perks Of The Job" went up Friday afternoon and the following sites updated:
