VA Secretary Wilkie comes under fire after IG report finds 'unprofessional' handling of sexual assault claim

Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., called for the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie and his senior staff Thursday, following an inspector general report that showed VA officials attempted to discredit a Navy officer after she said she was sexually assaulted.

Navy Reserve officer and Hill staffer, Andrea Goldstein, reported that a hospital contractor “bumped his entire body against mine and told me ‘I looked like I needed a smile and a good time,’” during a September 2019 incident in the Washington, D.C.  Veterans Medical Center (VAMC).

The 68-page report illustrated that Wilkie tried to discredit Goldstein by alleging she was a serial complainer attempting to disparage the VA. The contractor was not charged, in part due to the lack of witnesses or security footage of the incident.

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“The incidents detailed in today’s OIG report were not fabricated or dreamt up as political stunts, and in early 2019, VA’s own research found that at least 1 in 4 women veterans experience sexual or gender harassment at VA,” Takano said in a statement Thursday.

“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 Andrea and the legitimacy of the whole incident," the congressmen added.

Wilkie responded Friday with a statement: “After nearly a year of investigation, interviews with 65 people and analysis of nearly 1.5 million documents, VA’s inspector general cannot substantiate that I sought to investigate or asked others to investigate the Veteran. That’s because these allegations are false. What’s more, the IG could not identify a single instance in which any VA employee violated any rule, regulation or policy. If it had, it would have issued recommendations, which it did not.”

The statement continued, “Unlike all current VA senior leaders who were asked, the dismissed former senior leader – who was a main proponent of the false allegations that served as a basis for this investigation – declined to appear before the IG for a formal interview. What’s more, the IG 'did not identify any documentary evidence corroborating his statements.’ And after interviewing 65 people, investigators could not identify anyone who could corroborate the former senior leader’s account.”

Wilkie had written a letter to Takano, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman, and called Goldstein’s claims “unsubstantiated” – despite findings that the contractor in question had been accused of sexually assaulting a VA hospital worker in May 2019, though Wilkie later retracted his word choice. 

The VA secretary also reportedly believed that Goldstein was just a pawn in Democrats’ broader plan to create “a spectacle.”

Inspector General Michael Missal, who oversaw the initial investigation, pushed back on the secretary’s “poor choice of words.”

“Neither I nor my staff told you or anyone else at the Department that the allegations were unsubstantiated,” he wrote. “Reaching a decision to close the investigation with no criminal charges does not mean the underlying allegation is unsubstantiated.”

The Office of Inspector General then launched an additional inquiry to look into Wilkie’s conduct during the initial investigation – though their probe was hindered by senior VA officials who refused to cooperate, including Wilkie.

“Secretary Wilkie and other VA officials privately disparaged the veteran,” the IG report concluded. “The tone set by Secretary Wilkie appears to have influenced aspects of the initial VA police investigation and the conduct of other VA employees.”

Takano was not alone in his call for Wilkie’s resignation Thursday, veteran organizations and other members of congress took to Twitter to voice their frustration over the findings.

“And we wonder why female service members are afraid to come forward. When they do they are attacked and disparaged,” Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., a  veteran, said. “I don’t care how many days are left to this admin. Wilkie and his goons should be fired.”

Founder of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Paul Rieckhoff, an Iraq War veteran himself, called the report “damning” and applauded Goldstein’s “Incredible courage and leadership.”

Goldstein also spoke out Thursday in a statement that called Wilkie’s actions “horrifyingly familiar” for victims of sexual assault.

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“In this shocking abuse of power, Secretary Wilkie publically revictimized the very people that the agency that he leads is supposed to serve,” Goldstein said.

“I remain dedicated to serving those whose voices have been silenced by those who should protect them,” she wrote on Twitter.” Women veterans are amongst the strongest and most resilient people you will ever meet. We are not invisible.”

The White House could not be immediately reached for comment.