Secretary Wilkie Does not take sexual assault seriously
“Spoke to Assistant Director; Appears the alleged assault did occur.” The assailant ‘reportedly pushed his groin into [the veteran’s] buttocks while she was in line (not sure which line).’ I have asked [the medical center assistant director] to get me a copy of video and Police report by tomorrow.”
What would your reaction be if this happened to you while you were in line waiting for an appointment at a medical facility? Would you file assault charges? Would you file a complaint? What would you do if an employee of yours pushed his groin into the body of a patient or a client? Would you try to cover it up or would you require that the assailant face some consequences for his actions? Would you try to discredit the complainant?
Navy reservist Andrea Goldstein reported this assault immediately after it happened on September 20, 2019. The man who “bumped his entire body against [hers] and told [her] that she looked like she needed a smile and a good time” was identified as “a service provider under VA contract who routinely works in the medical center.” That this assault took place in the atrium of the Washington, DC Veteran Affairs Medical Center makes this incident all the more concerning and confounding. Goldstein explained in her report that even though the incident happened in a public area, hospital employees did not intervene and were slow to react once she reported. Since then, there has been an Inspector General investigation into the assault itself, followed by an investigation into VA Senior Officials’ response to the sexual assault.
Goldstein serves as a staff member on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Veteran’s Affairs or HVAC. Ironically, she works on issues affecting women veterans which include efforts to reduce the occurrence of sexual harassment and assault in VA medical centers. Oftentimes victims of assault are criticized for failing to report an incident right after it happens. But here we have someone who did just that and the result was the same. Goldstein was retaliated against for reporting and her character and intentions immediately called into question.
The OIG closed the sexual assault case in January and filed no charges but they did not deny claims that the incident took place. After the case was closed VA Secretary Robert Wilkie, offended at the criticism against his VA employees, took it upon himself to write a letter to the committee stating: “We believe that VA is a safe place for veterans to enter and receive care and services, but the unsubstantiated claims raised by you and your staff could deter our veterans from seeking the care they need and deserve.” Mind you, the assault did take place and still, Wilkie decided to reprimand the veteran for reporting an assault thereby suggesting it was her fault for making the facility unwelcoming. Instead of focusing his attention on the man who assaulted Goldstein and writing him a disapproving letter, Wilkie chose to retaliate against the victim.
VA Inspector General Michael Missal even responded to Wilkie’s use of the term “unsubstantiated” in a separate statement saying that “[he] specifically told (senior VA staff) that...reaching a decision to close the investigation with no criminal charges does not mean the underlying allegation is unsubstantiated.” The OIG soon after received a letter from HVAC Chairman Mark Takano on February 7, 2020 “seeking an investigation into media reports that “VA officials used government time and resources to undermine the credibility of [the veteran] after [Chairman Takano] requested an investigation of her sexual assault allegations at the Washington D.C. VA Medical Center.” Multiple lawmakers from the House and Senate followed suit and requested a broader investigation into the VA’s response to the incident. The OIG conducted interviews with VA employees in which he found enough “credible information from multiple sources that warranted opening a review into the allegations of VA’ officials’ misconduct.” That investigation was started in March 2020 but was postponed until Aug 2020 due to Covid-19.
The OIG’s report on this latter investigation into Senior VA Officials' response to the assault was released on Dec 10th, 2020. It corroborates Committee Chairman Mark Takano’s assertion that “coming forward is punished, speaking out retaliated against, and that a hostile culture at VA is tolerated.” The investigation consisted of 65 interviews, “extensive reviews of emails, telephone records, and other documentation.” The report says that “despite the refusal by certain VA employees to cooperate fully” the investigation was able to confirm the following:
Senior VA Officials Questioned the Veteran’s Credibility, and VA Police Initially Scrutinized the Veteran
Multiple VA Officials Testified that Secretary Wilkie Remarked that the Veteran Had Made, or May Have Made, Prior Similar Complaints
VA Officials Attempted to Focus the National Media on the Veteran’s Background and Credibility
VA Leaders Did Not Fully Consider or Take Appropriate Administrative and Other Corrective Actions Despite Having Access to Relevant Information
The report concluded that :
“conduct of senior VA leaders appears to undermine VA’s stated goals of providing a safe and welcoming environment for all veterans and to treat complainants of sexual assault with respect. VA leaders failed to make meaningful efforts to determine what corrective measures may be needed in response to the sexual assault complaint, while engaging the media to focus on the complainant.”
One would think that in the year of the military’s metoo movement, one in which thousands of veterans have come out publicly with their stories of sexual assault after the death of service woman Vanessa Guillen, Senior VA officials would show a bit of respect and basic decency when cooperating in an investigation about sexual assault. But alas, we keep being reminded that sexual assault is not taken seriously and that those who come forward are continually met with incredulity. All while leaders continue to do little to nothing to address this serious issue.
The quote at the beginning of this article is from emails included in the report between Senior VA Officials. Goldstein’s allegations were received by Assistant secretary for Congressional and Legislative Affairs, Brooks Tucker, at 5:12 pm the day of the assault. According to the report, “within two hours, senior staff from VA headquarters, VHA, Public Affairs, and OCLA were communicating about the incident” expressing their “skepticism about the credibility of the veteran’s allegations as [they] awaited additional information.” “At 8:55 p.m., Mr. Connell wrote to Dr. Stone, Dr. Lieberman, and others providing a status update: ‘Spoke to Assistant Director; Appears the alleged assault did occur.’ The assailant reportedly pushed his groin into [the veteran’s] buttocks while she was in line (not sure which line). I have asked [the medical center assistant director] to get me a copy of video and Police report by tomorrow.” Mr. Connell is the Veteran’s Health Administration’s (VHA)Chief of Staff. Dr. Stone serves as the Executive in Charge of the VHA. And Dr. Lieberman is the VA’s Acting Deputy under Secretary for Health.
The next morning at 7:22 am, Secretary Wilkie wrote to Mr. Trucker and Pamela J. Powers, then VA Chief of Staff, “that he believed Chairman Takano and his [committee] where ‘laying the grounds for a spectacle.’” The allegations were almost immediately confirmed by VA officials themselves and Secretary Wilkie still had the gall to call the allegations a spectacle created by the Committee and the very veteran who was assaulted.
It is no wonder why major Veteran’s groups, allies, and lawmakers alike have been calling for Wilkie’s resignation ever since the report dropped. In response to inquiries about his letter calling the allegation unsubstantiated, the VA provided statements claiming that “Secretary Wilkie acknowledges that describing the allegations as ‘unsubstantiated’ was a poor choice of words, and he withdraws that word.” It was not a poor choice of words. It was a clear message: Secretary Wilkie does not take sexual assault seriously and he will do nothing to address the culture that enables certain employees to harass and or assault. If this sounds familiar it is because we have been seeing this same attitude towards sexual assault from military leaders in regards to investigations into Fort Hood and the atrocities that happen there.
In the midst of all this “a number of top political appointees in the inner circle of Secretary Robert Wilkie at the Department of Veterans affairs were also under investigation for misconduct” after a whistleblower complaint was shared with Congress and filed with the VA’s OIG. One of the appointees under investigation is Daniel Sitterly. Secretary Wilkie installed Sitterly as Dr. Tammy Bonzanto’s second in command on Dec. 1st, without consulting her. Dr. Tammy Bonzanto is the Assistant Secretary for Accountability and Whistleblower Protections at the Dept. of Veteran Affairs. As such Dr. Bonzanto “leads the OAWP and “advises the Secretary of Veteran Affairs on accountability within the VA.” Under Dr. Bonzanto’s leadership the “OAWP carries out investigations into allegations of senior leader misconduct and whistleblower retaliation by VA supervisors.” Allegedly,Wilkie installed Sitterly in this position in order to protect himself from investigations, a move that can potentially jeopardize the integrity of what should be independent investigations. “The complaint alleges that Wilkie is trying to hand effective control of the whistleblower protection office to Sitterly, and quotes Wilkie saying ‘that Mr. Sitterly is coming to OAWP to be ‘his voice,” according to the Project of Government Oversight. The whistleblower complaint also accuses Secretary WIlkie of abusing power and acting contrary to the law.
Secretary Wilkies’s Dec. 7th letter to the OIG include this final gem:
“Rather than providing an official report of any findings and/or wrongdoing, the IG’s...faulty rationale is not the product of a serious investigation. In fact, it’s indicative of one that has become more dedicated to scoring political points than improving the department...” I am at a loss as to what Secretary Wilkie considers wrongdoing if he does not think that a VA employee assaulting a veteran in public is wrong. Evidently he did not conduct any follow up with the man accused of the assault and no action was taken on his part to remedy the situation and ensure the safety of future visitors to the medical center. Wilkie can’t just rely on the lazy accusation that investigations into his conduct are a result of partisan politics. If he wants to avoid scrutiny he should learn to act with integrity. To take action against sexual assault. To not interfere with investigations. Based on this most recent act of installing one of his own to be his “voice” in a department whose sole purpose is to be a VA watchdog, it is clear that Wilkie lacks any modicum of self-reflection or desire to do what is right. I highly doubt he will suddenly grow a conscience so maybe he should just finally listen to veterans and resign.