Veterans groups demand VA Secretary Wilkie resign after scathing report that he tried to discredit assault victim

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called on Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie to resign Saturday, following a report that he tried to smear a congressional aide who said she was assaulted at a VA hospital.

“The VA Inspector General report makes clear that Secretary Wilkie engaged in an extremely disturbing cover-up campaign of sexual assault against a veteran,” Pelosi said in a statement. “He has lost the trust and confidence to serve, and he must immediately resign.”

The country’s leading veterans groups — including the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America — echoed the call, saying that Wilkie had breached their trust and could no longer effectively lead an agency responsible for the care of 9 million veterans. Continue reading.