The Veterans Affairs Department’s inspector general is reviewing a request by House VA Committee Chairman Mark Takano (D-CA) late Friday for an investigation into the allegations that VA Secretary Robert Wilkie attempted to dig up dirt on one of his aides after she filed a complaint saying that she was sexually assaulted at VA’s Washington hospital.
According to the Washington Post, Takano requested the probe after receiving information from a senior VA official that Wilkie made efforts to discredit the allegations of his senior policy adviser Andrea Goldstein.
Three sources told the Post that Wilkie reportedly began inquiring with military officials regarding Goldstein’s past last fall when she said that a man groped and propositioned her in the main lobby of the VA Medical Center in Washington. Her case was closed by authorities in January.
Three current or former senior VA officials confirmed to the Post that over several months, Wilkie shared his findings on Goldstein with his senior staff on at least six occasions, which included the multiple complaints she filed during her military service.
The Post reported that the information shared with the committee said that Wilkie zeroed in on Goldstein’s “credibility and military record.” The VA official who shared the information said Wilkie described Goldstein to his staff as a “serial sexual assault/harassment complainant in the Navy who made baseless allegations for example when she was not satisfied with a fitness evaluation.”
Read the Washington Post’s report here.
