US. Department
of Veterans Affairs

 

Inspector General
Washington DC 20420

JAN 1 5 2020

The Honorable Robert L. Wilkie
Secretary

US. Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20420

Dear Mr. Secretary:

I write in response to your letter today to Representative Mark Takano, Chairman, Committee on
Veterans? Affairs, regarding the results of the Of?ce of Inspector General (01G) and United
States Attorney?s Of?ce investigation into an alleged sexual assault at the DC VA Medical
Center in September 2019. We take these matters very seriously and conducted a thorough
investigation.

Your letter accurately states that the investigation into the alleged assault has been closed with
no charges to be ?led. However, your letter then inaccurately characterizes the complainant?s
allegation as ?unsubstantiated.? That is not an accurate description of the results of our
investigation. Neither I nor my staff told you or anyone else at the Department that the
allegations were unsubstantiated. Indeed, in my conversation with Deputy Secretary Jim Byrne
and Chief of Staff Pam Powers on January 14, I speci?cally told them that the investigation had
been closed without charges and that no other characterization could or should be made
regarding the outcome of the investigation. Reaching a decision to close the investigation with
no criminal charges does not mean that the underlying allegation is unsubstantiated.

I trust that this clari?es this matter and you will ensure that no one is informed that our
investigation concluded that the sexual assault allegation at issue was not substantiated.
Moreover, the OIG encourages the reporting of all potential misconduct in VA medical facilities.
Despite the apparent implication of your letter, no one should be discouraged from reporting an
alleged crime to the 01G. I thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

  

MICHAEL J. MIS SAL

cc: The Honorable Mark Takano, Chairman
US. House Committee on Veterans? Affairs

The Honorable David Roe, M.D., Ranking Member
US. House Committee on Veterans? Affairs