VA Secretary Wilkie being investigated for handling of sexual assault report

The inspector general for the Department of Veterans Affairs is investigating an allegation that agency Secretary Robert Wilkie attempted to discredit a woman who reported being sexually assaulted at a VA hospital in Washington, D.C.

Michael Missal, the agency’s inspector general, on Thursday announced the probe and has told the House Veterans Affairs Committee that the investigation is a “high priority” for his office.

Reports about the alleged incident and that Wilkie had sought “damaging” information on the women who filed the complaint have been circulating for several months. The allegations are being made by Andrea Goldstein, a Navy veteran and staffer on the Veterans Affairs committee, which asked for the IG investigation. 

The Washington Post first reported the IG probe.

VA spokeswoman Christina Mandreucci publicly said the agency will “fully cooperate” in the probe and pointed out that federal prosecutors and the independent inspector general have already reviewed Goldstein’s allegations and closed their respective investigations without charges.