The Department of Veterans Affairs inspector general “told prosecutors this fall that his investigation of VA Secretary Robert Wilkie had turned up possible criminal conduct,” CNN reported on Wednesday, December 9, 2020 (here), citing reporting by the Washington Post (here).
Wilkie (photo, right), a controversial Trump appointee who lied about his pro-Confederate views during his Senate confirmation hearing, was investigated for allegedly seeking “damaging information” about Andrea Goldstein (photo, below left), a congressional staffer, who said she was sexually assaulted at a veterans hospital. She publicly lambasted Willkie for “implying that I was a liar” (here).
Goldstein, granddaughter of Jews who fled Hitler and a former Navy officer who gets health care at the V.A., said she was groped and propositioned at the V.A. hospital in Washington D.C. After she filed a complaint, Willkie asked about her military record and tried to discredit her, according to the Washington Post story.
Potential law violations by Willkie included “interference with the investigation into whether Goldstein had been assaulted and perjury during his testimony to investigators,” the inspector general said in his report. House Democrats have also accused Willkie of using taxpayer funds and government assets “to benefit” Trump’s re-election campaign (read that story here).
The Washington Post noted that five other Trump cabinet member or agency heads have been fired or forced to resign “after investigations into improper travel, lavish spending, ethical lapses and management decisions.” That’s an extraordinary amount of misconduct at the highest level of government and reflects the Trump administration’s broad disregard of ethical constraints.