Major veterans groups call for VA secretary’s ouster following damning report December 11, 2020
Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie adjusts his mask after an suicide prevention event at the White House on June 17, 2020. Multiple veterans groups on Friday called for Wilkie s firing following a critical Inspector General report. (Alex Brandon/AP) A day after the Veterans Affairs Inspector General blasted VA Secretary Robert Wilkie for his handling of a sexual assault allegation at a department hospital, most of the country’s major veterans organizations called for his immediate firing, citing a lack of confidence in his leadership. “Secretary Wilkie and several members of his executive staff violated the trust of a fellow veteran who came forth with serious allegations of sexual assault,” said Veterans of Foreign Wars Executive Director B.J. Lawrence in a statement Friday night.
Wilkie Disparaged Congressional Aide Who Alleged Sexual Assault at VA Facility, IG Probe Confirms
U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie speaks during an East Room event to announce the “PREVENTS Task Force” at the White House June 17, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
10 Dec 2020
Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie disparaged a veteran who claimed she was sexually assaulted at a VA hospital and sought to undermine her credibility, a new investigation from the department s inspector general has found. The report did not, however, substantiate reports that Wilkie actively investigated the former service member or ordered others to look into her background.
The veteran, Andrew Goldstein, works closely with Takano; she is a member of the committee staff as well as a Navy Reserve lieutenant commander. Instead of working with me to address an underlying problem at the DC VAMC from the start, Secretary Wilkie and the senior-most officials at VA went out of their way to raise suspicions and cast speculation and doubt about [the veteran] and the legitimacy of the whole incident, Takano said Thursday in reaction to the report. When the most senior leadership of VA are derelict in their duty, refuse to take immediate action to correct glaring deficiencies, and are themselves complicit in attempts to discredit and cast doubt on the facts, they betray the public trust and as a result disqualify themselves from all future public service, he added.