Written by Staff Writer
Dr. Lawrence Ganley, an employee of the US State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs since 1977, filed a civil lawsuit against former National Security Adviser Susan Rice and the State Department for alleged disability discrimination after sustaining what he described as “one too many” injuries stemming from his “mentally unstable” Cuban-born ex-wife, Julia Butler.
Ganley and his wife dated from 1983 to 1987 and lived in Cuba at the time. When she became pregnant with their daughter, Ganley saw a specialist. In 1987, Ganley’s lawyer in California said his client was diagnosed with “menstrual system dysmenorrhea,” caused by an undiagnosed kidney disease.
According to the US State Department, Ganley first reported incidents of severe headaches and brain and neck pain to his supervisor in February 2013. The department’s medical team determined the cause to be the Cuban “psychogeeks” from his original medical treatment in 1987, which was transferred to the State Department medical staff in Washington.
In February 2015, Ganley and his boss testified before a House Judiciary subcommittee about how the Cuban “psychogeeks” who gave birth to him affected his future health. Then in April 2016, Ganley was diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis — an ailment which causes the immune system to attack the brain and may be caused by Cuba’s “psychogeeks,” the physician testified.
Ganley’s attorney, Ronayne Williams, said that Ganley’s symptoms all stemmed from Butler’s relationship with Fidel Castro’s brother, Raul. In 1987, after Ganley’s medical treatment in Cuba, the doctor said Ganley’s wife cut herself and that was when the “psychogeeks” in Cuba turned to cancer treatment.
“The Cuban government has completely come to fruition” in “increasingly understanding how this works,” said Williams. “[Cuba] has become a focal point for people who deal with a lot of unique situations,” he added.
The Cuban government has denied the allegations against its doctors. However, ABC’s “Nightline” reported that the Cuban government denied Ganley’s complaints about his wife’s behavior.
CNN has reached out to Ganley’s representatives, and the Department of State to seek comment but has not yet received a response.
Ganley is asking the court to force the State Department to provide him with additional medical care and adjust his disability retirement benefits to account for the “cumulative medical conditions which have long affected his health.” Ganley’s lawsuit claims that his statements about his wife, and about “curing” Fidel Castro, resulted in retaliation. Ganley also wants the court to apply a 27.5% discount to the disability retirement because of the “cumulative health issues which have prevented him from performing his duties for decades.”
According to the US Department of State’s disability regulations, “state and local governments may have special procedures by which they may adjust or exempt” a retirement benefit based on conditions not considered “factually or medically determinable.”