Calls are quickly growing for Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie to step down after a new report revealed his agency attempted to discredit and cover up sexual assault allegations from a congressional aide and a veteran at a VA hospital.
An investigation by the Veterans Affairs’ inspector general released last week concluded that Mr. Wilkie repeatedly sought to discredit claims from Andrea Goldstein, a senior policy adviser to Rep. Mark Takano, California Democrat. The staffer said in September 2019 that a man at the VA medical center in Washington, D.C., had physically assaulted her.
Mr. Wilkie and other senior VA officials declined to fully cooperate with the investigation by VA Inspector General Michael Missal, according to The Associated Press. The report cited the lack of cooperation in saying it could not be determined whether Mr. Wilkie had violated federal law or government policies. The secretary has denied wrongdoing in the incident.
Immediately following the report’s release, Mr. Takano, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, defended his aide and said Mr. Wilkie “has lost the trust and confidence of all those he is charged to serve.”
By Friday, four of the nation’s biggest veterans groups — Veterans of Foreign Wars, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Disabled American Veterans and AMVETS — called for the immediate dismissal of the VA secretary.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer have also launched calls for Mr. Wilkie’s resignation.
“The VA inspector general report makes clear that Secretary Wilkie engaged in an extremely disturbing cover-up campaign of sexual assault against a veteran,” Ms. Pelosi, California Democrat, said in a statement over the weekend. “Mr. Wilkie has not only been derelict in his duty to combat sexual harassment, but has been complicit in the continuation of a VA culture that tolerates this epidemic. He has lost the trust and confidence to serve, and he must immediately resign.”
Mr. Hoyer concurred.
“There is an epidemic of harassment and violence against women who serve, and Secretary Wilkie has a duty to all Americans to work to address it,” the Maryland Democrat said. “Unfortunately, the inspector general’s report makes clear that Secretary Wilkie attacked the integrity of a victim of sexual assault and engaged in a cover-up that contributes to this crisis.”
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.
• Lauren Toms can be reached at lmeier@washingtontimes.com.
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