Big six veterans groups ask Trump to fire VA Sec. Wilkie immediately

“The findings make clear that the secretary himself established a defensive posture and made decisions to personally disparage the veteran and circumvent the subsequent IG investigation”

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Robert Wilkie, VA

…from Military Times

[ Editor’s Note This is a big story, due its having the big six Vet group leaderships having signed onto it. But the triggering incident is unusual, a Democrat Congressional Navy female vet staffer claims she was assaulted and verbally abused by “a man” in the public area while visiting the VA in DC.

The term “a man” sets the VT bells and whistles going off. Why use such a vague term in making such a high profile case? Was the man part of the staff, was it a Vet with PTSD issues, or was it a relative visitor?

The Military Times seems to have not wanted to be more specific. Even a rookie editor would have thrown this story back in the writer’s lap and demanded more specific details on ‘the man’.

As I read further we see that politics rears its ugly head, as none of the Republicans are concerned with the incident. And then we have the timing, two weeks after the big Fort Hood sexual abuse and murder scandal, the biggest so far in terms of action taken, the removal of the top command.

The sexual harassment scandal weaves throughout the whole military, and there is no reason not to suspect it is similar inside the civilian branch. Even the Fort Hood incident quickly and predictably got buried in the Trump Steal media vortex. The abuse story has disappeared.

VT was biding its time to get through the inauguration to begin pulling the thread more on the huge military harassment scandal, a scandal that has gone on everywhere for ages, due to the class of people involved and the command culture of hiding it to “save the image of the military,” if you can wrap your mind around that.

Dear Military Times, half a story is worse than no story at all. Next time, why not wait until you can tell the whole story versus throwing out the tabloid version? Jim W. Dean ]

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U.S. Military veteran and amputee Lloyd Epps walks after doctors serviced his prosthetic leg at the Veterans Administration(Photo: John Moore, Getty Images)

First published … December 16, 2020 

The nation’s leading veterans groups on Wednesday formally requested that President Donald Trump fire Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie immediately from his Cabinet post, saying that the VA administrator “no longer has the trust or confidence of America’s veterans.”

The letter — signed by leaders from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, AMVETS and Vietnam Veterans of America — is the latest damning assessment of Wilkie’s ability shepherd the department following the release of an inspector general report last week criticizing his handling of a sexual assault allegation late last year.

“The findings make clear that the secretary himself established a defensive posture and made decisions to personally disparage the veteran and circumvent the subsequent IG investigation,” the letter states.

“This is a tremendous breach of trust among veterans, and Secretary Wilkie must be held accountable. His actions not only threaten to deter veterans from seeking care at VA, but also undermine the efforts of VA staff who have been working to bring an end to sexual harassment throughout the department.”

White House officials in recent days have declined comment on the report and declined to answer if the president still has faith in Wilkie.

Since the report’s release, 21 lawmakers have also called for Wilkie’s removal, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Takano, D-Calif.; and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee members Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii.

No Republicans have publicly called for Wilkie’s firing.

In response to the calls for Wilkie’s ouster, VA press secretary Christina Noel said that the secretary “has led VA to achieve landmark improvements in veterans’ trust, quality of care and employee satisfaction. He will continue to lead the department, including its historic response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

At issue is Wilkie’s response to allegations in September 2019 from a staffer on Takano’s committee — Navy reservist Andrea Goldstein — who alleged she was assaulted and verbally abused by a man in a public area of the Washington D.C. VA medical center while she was visiting the hospital.

The VA Secretary promised a full, independent investigation into the allegations. However, the IG report released Dec. 10 said Wilkie and other senior leaders instead worked to discredit Goldstein, investigating her background and spreading rumors about her honesty.

Wilkie accused both Takano and the Inspector General of politicizing the investigation, and of searching for ways to smear VA leadership despite finding no evidence of crimes. In a statement last week, Wilkie criticized the Inspector General’s office as “”more dedicated to scoring political points than improving the department.”

The letter from the so-called “big six” veterans service organizations noted that in past surveys, one in four women veterans have reported experiencing some form of sexual assault or harassment within VA.

“Solving this problem takes strong and committed leadership, and we no longer believe Secretary Wilkie is capable of leading this charge or performing his duties in the best interest of veterans,” the group wrote.

If Trump opts not to fire Wilkie, the VA Secretary is still expected to depart the job in the next month. President-elect Joe Biden has already announced former White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough as his pick to be the next VA Secretary, and is not expected to retain Wilkie as a bridge administrator until McDonough’s confirmation.

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1 COMMENT

  1. While we are all getting screwed by our government. It is disheartening to realize that there are female veterans with health issues that are getting it despite all normal respite. Shame on them.

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