Letter to the Hon. Robert Wilkie, Secretary of Veterans Affairs - Ranking Member Walz: Unacceptable for VA to Stonewall Congressional Inquiry into Mar-a-Lago Shadow Rulers

Letter

Dear Secretary Wilkie:

I am writing in response to your letter dated September 14, 2018 and delivered electronically September 28, nearly a month past its August 31 deadline.

Your letter fails to satisfy my request for documents and information regarding the sweeping influence of Mr. Ike Perlmutter, Dr. Bruce Moskowitz, and Mr. Marc Sherman over policy and personnel decisions made by the Department of Veterans Affairs during the Trump Presidency. Your letter references litigation over Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) violations as the reason for refusing to comply with my request. The Department's involvement in litigation, relevant or not to a request for information from Congress, does not exempt it from complying with a Congressional request.

My request was made on August 8, 2018, eight days before the Plaintiff in the FACA litigation you reference filed its complaint in Federal court. The Department cannot hide behind litigation that commenced over a week after the request was made as an excuse to ignore an inquiry from Congress.

Furthermore, your letter reads as a transparent attempt to stonewall not only a Member of Congress but also the American public on a matter of significant importance to our nation's veterans. Be assured, this issue will remain a top concern of the Committee until all our questions have been answered.

Due to your failure to address my original request, I ask again that you provide the documents and information requested in my August 8, 2018 letter to the Committee no later than 5:00 p.m. on October 31, 2018.

Sincerely,

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