Letter to The Honorable Robert Wilkie, Secretary of Veterans Affairs - Tester, Takano Demand Answers on Politicization Of VA and potential hatch act violations

Letter

Dear Secretary Wilkie,
We write today to express our serious concerns that the Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) may have misused taxpayer funds and other government assets in an effort to benefit the
reelection of President Trump and certain Republican candidates seeking office in 2020. To
maintain the integrity of the Department you lead, we are requesting a full accounting of
taxpayer-funded travel, attendance at events, and related activities by you and other Department
senior leaders that appear to be in violation of the Hatch Act and relevant regulations.
Leaders at VA have historically risen above partisan politics. Unfortunately, our review
of publicly available information, media reports, social media postings, and other data suggests
that the travel, events, and other related official actions of VA senior leaders are steering the
Department away from its apolitical mission and potentially using Department resources in an
attempt to tip the scale in favor of the President and other Republican candidates. Furthermore,
efforts to engage in overtly political activity may have come at the expense of legitimate
functions of the Department's mission--to provide health care, benefits, and memorial services
to our nation's veterans, as well as care for their families. This mission should bring together
Americans and all elected officials, rather than divide us along party lines. Those who served in
uniform did so without regard to party or political preference. Their focus rightly remained on
our country and defending the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Even in
Congress, where political bickering and gridlock are the norm rather than the exception, the
Veterans' Affairs Committees strive to remain focused on passing dozens of bipartisan laws each
year to strengthen veterans' services. With this in mind, we are disappointed in the recent
partisan turn of the Department.
As you may know, in the 2006-midterm elections, former VA Secretary Jim Nicholson, a
previous Republican National Committee chair, engaged in inappropriate political activity using
time and resources of the Department. This incident was documented in the Office of Special
Counsel's (OSC) 2011 report1
entitled "Investigation of Political Activities by White House and
Federal Agency Officials During the 2006 Midterm Elections."2 This report cited several cabinet
secretaries, including then-Secretary Nicholson, for violations of the Hatch Act, such as for
labeling events that were clearly political in nature as "official events" and paying for them with

1 U.S. Office of Special Counsel - Investigation of Political Activities by White House and Federal Agency Officials During the
2006 Midterm Elections, E&E News (January 2011) (online at https://www.eenews.net/assets/2020/06/22/document_gw_09.pdf)
2 Bush officials violated Hatch Act, agenc-y concludes, Washington Post (Jan. 25, 2011) (online at
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/bush-officials-violated-hatch-act-agencyconcludes/2011/01/24/AB26YzD_story.html)
The Honorable Robert Wilkie
October 13, 2020
Page 2
taxpayer funds. Public information, media reports, and other information indicate that the
Department, under your leadership, appears to have returned to these and other troubling
practices.
Veterans and the American public deserve a VA that is devoid of improper political
influence and remains focused on the work of serving veterans and their families. This is
especially true during the time of a pandemic, a veteran suicide crisis, and a host of other
challenges facing veterans and their loved ones. In an era when norms and customs, if not laws
and regulations, are regularly flaunted by many in the executive branch,
3
it is imperative for
senior officials at the Department to follow both the spirit and the letter of the law and to avoid
the appearance of partisanship, as well as to uphold the highest ethical standards.
Unfortunately, evidence currently available points to senior leaders at VA using the
power, reach, and resources of the Department to inappropriately involve themselves in political
campaigns to benefit the President and his supporters in Congress, while at the same time
shirking VA leadership's responsibility to be accountable to Congress by meeting constitutional
obligations to provide timely information and appear at hearings. Many of the events or trips on
your and other leaders' official travel schedule contain substantial veterans-related policy
discussions or Departmental management matters for which we have no objection. However,
your schedules appears to mix those policy matters with overtly political activities that are
"directed toward the success or failure of a political party, candidate for partisan political office,
or partisan political group"4
and therefore must not be paid for with taxpayer funds.5 There is an
explicit prohibition in law against using your official authority or influence to affect the result of
an election.6
The Hatch Act, relevant regulations, OSC advisories and VA's own policies lay out
distinct rules and guidelines to prevent misuse of taxpayer funds and inappropriate political
influence in an election. For example, OSC lays out a series of 12 non-exhaustive guidelines for
agencies to use when deciding the appropriateness of events and whether they are political in

3 Team Trump eyes dubious Iowa road trip for caucus members, MSNBC (Jan. 28, 2020) (online at
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/team-trump-eyes-dubious-iowa-road-trip-caucus-members-n1134001); It's Illegal
for Federal Officials to Campaign on the Job. Trump Staffers Keep Doing It Anyway, ProPublica (Aug. 12, 2020) (online at
https://www.propublica.org/article/its-illegal-for-federal-officials-to-campaign-on-the-job-trump-staffers-keep-doing-itanyways); White House Admits Trump Is Using Official Events For Midterm Campaigning, HuffPost (Aug. 22, 2018) (online at
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-official-campaign_n_5b7c896ce4b07295150dc45d); Trump obliterates lines between
governing and campaigning in service of his reelection, Washington Post (Aug. 23, 2020) (online at
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-white-house-convention/2020/08/23/6ff3b412-e261-11ea-8181-
606e603bb1c4_story.html); Federal ethics breaches at the RNC warrant Hatch Act inquiries, experts say, Los Angeles Times
(Aug. 26, 2020) (online at https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-08-26/rnc-hatch-act-ethical-violations); Pompeo accused
of mixing politics and diplomacy as election nears, Washington Post (Oct. 5, 2020) (online at
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/pompeo-accused-of-mixing-politics-and-diplomacy-as-electionnears/2020/10/05/95ac4110-0741-11eb-991c-be6ead8c4018_story.html); Perdue rebuked for violating ethics law by boosting
Trump's reelection, Politico (Oct. 8, 2020) (online at https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/08/perdue-ethics-trump-reelection428018)
4 5 C.F.R. § 734.101
5 5 U.S.C. § 7324(b)(1)
6 5 U.S.C. § 7323(a)(1)
The Honorable Robert Wilkie
October 13, 2020
Page 3
nature.7 Therefore, the sequence and origin of each event or trip, and the related ethics reviews
and other oversight activities taken by the Department in advance of each trip, are critical to our
understanding of how VA applied the appropriate rules and whether taxpayers financed the trips
or events. Past Administrations, under the tenure of presidents of both parties, have had to
comply with these laws and rules. VA and its leadership does not get a pass and must be held
accountable.
The following trips are examples of those that raise concerns regarding your
Department's observance of political travel restrictions using taxpayer funds and related rules.
Further examination and scrutiny of your travel and event schedule information and documents,
as requested in this correspondence, may reveal additional prohibited activity.
 In early August of 2020, you traveled, along with your Acting Chief of Staff, who was
confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Legislative Affairs, to North
Carolina for the dedication of a non-profit veterans' transition facility with an incumbent
Senator up for reelection. The Department promoted the event on its website.8 Around
the same time, you also participated in at least one 14-minute videotaped discussion with
the same incumbent Senator while in North Carolina.
9 Public recordings of your various
remarks appear intended to elevate the candidate for reelection. This is one of several
visits to North Carolina you made in 2020 where you appeared alongside the incumbent
in what appears to be a sustained effort to benefit the candidate.
10 As you know well,
being a native of the state, North Carolina is the site of a highly competitive 2020 U.S.
Senate race, will be the site of an expected competitive 2022 U.S. Senate race, and is a
battleground state in the Presidential election. It appears you conducted all of these visits
in your official capacity as Secretary.

7 OSC Advisory Regarding Mixed Travel by Presidentially-Appointed /Senate Confirmed (PAS) Employees, Office of Special
Counsel (October 6, 2011) (online at
https://osc.gov/Documents/Hatch%20Act/Advisory%20Opinions/Federal/Mixed%20Travel%20by%20Presidential%20Appointe
es%20with%20Senate%20Confirmation%20(PAS).pdf); See, for example, the following criteria that can be used when
determining what constitutes a political event: "1. Identify the type of event, e.g. ribbon cutting, grant announcement, etc; 2.
Ascertain whether candidates (including incumbents seeking reelection) will be present and what their role will be; … 10.
Consider the proximity of the event to the date of the election. Events with candidates that take place two weeks before an
election are more likely to be for political purposes than events that occur, for example, eight months before an election.
11. Find out whether the event is open or closed to media. An event that is open to the media is more likely to be political
than one that is closed to the press." (emphasis added) (pages 2-3)
8 VA Secretary Wilkie speaks at VLC Opening, VA (Aug. 7, 2020) (online at
https://www.visn6.va.gov/VISN6/features/VA_Secretary_Wilkie_speaks_at_VLC_Opening.asp)
9 Senator Thom Tillis and VA Secretary Robert Wilkie Fireside Chat, YouTube (Aug. 10, 2020) (online at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FilXC9tL2JU&feature=youtu.be); Tillis and VA Secretary Wilkie Discuss Work to Help
Veterans, U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (August 14, 2020) (online at https://www.tillis.senate.gov/2020/8/tillis-and-va-secretarywilkie-discuss-work-to-help-veterans)
10 Official Travel, Use of Private and Government Aircraft by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs (Oct. 6, 2020) (online at https://www.va.gov/opa/secvatravel/docs/SECVA-Public-Travel-Calendar-Wilkie.pdf); Town of
Butner welcomes Veterans Life Center with ribbon-cutting, WTVD (Aug. 1, 2020) (online at https://abc11.com/sen-thom-tillisveterans-life-center/6347291/); Butner, NC: Tillis Participates in Grand Opening of Veterans Life Center, Facebook (Aug.8,
2020) (online at https://www.facebook.com/SenatorThomTillis/videos/butner-nc-tillis-participates-in-grand-opening-of-veteranslife-center/1449499291900662/)
The Honorable Robert Wilkie
October 13, 2020
Page 4
 In late August of 2020, you traveled to Maine for the groundbreaking of a new national
cemetery. Maine is the site of a highly competitive 2020 U.S. Senate race and the
incumbent candidate participated in the event. VA highlighted the incumbent in its media
materials, and both you and the incumbent provided interviews with the media.11 The
event was promoted on the candidate's campaign social media account as well as your
official Twitter account.12 It appears you conducted the event in your official capacity as
Secretary.
 In late September 2020, you traveled to Montana for several VA meetings and media
appearances with an incumbent Senator up for reelection in a highly competitive 2020
U.S. Senate race.
13 You provided a quote in the official press release announcing this
event praising the candidate's work on veterans' issues. You led several media
appearances on VA grounds, including with the incumbent, and commended his work on
veterans' issues.
14 It appears you conducted this travel in your official capacity as
Secretary.15
In addition, your public travel schedule, as well as schedules of other VA leaders, are
filled with visits (physical and virtual) to key Presidential or 2020 U.S. Senate battleground
states such as Ohio, South Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Maine, Arizona,
Kentucky, and Florida.
16 There is of course no prohibition on official travel to, or activity in,
these states for legitimate departmental work, or in specific circumstances for political purposes
if appropriately labeled as such and funded accordingly. But these events--and others by
officials within your Department, especially over the last year--require further scrutiny to
understand their origins, objectives, and how they were planned, sequenced, prioritized, and
financed.

11 VA dedicates new national cemetery in rural Maine, News Center Maine (Aug. 29, 2020) (online at
https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/community/va-dedicates-new-national-cemetery-in-rural-maine/97-be1185dfeda1-49e1-9691-e614c40ec4e7)
12 Susan Collins for Senator, Twitter Post, (Aug. 30, 2020; 2:28 PM) (online at
https://twitter.com/SenSusanCollins/status/1300138437903896582); Secretary Robert L. Wilkie, Twitter Post, (Aug. 29, 2020;
3:16 PM) (online at https://twitter.com/SecWilkie/status/1299787981516087298)
13 BREAKING: Daines to Bring VA Secretary Wilkie to Montana for Several Veterans Related Meetings, U.S. Senator Steve
Daines (Sept. 16, 2020) (online at https://www.daines.senate.gov/news/press-releases/breaking-daines-to-bring-va-secretarywilkie-to-montana-for-several-veterans-related-meetings)
14 Sen. Daines, VA Secretary Wilkie speak on telehealth plans, KULR8 (Sept. 28, 2020) (online at
https://www.kulr8.com/news/state/sen-daines-va-secretary-wilkie-speak-on-telehealth-plans/video_c855cb5f-ad21-52ef-a3bad315477ac1ee.html); VA Secretary Wilkie praises veterans aid at Fort Harrison, Great Falls Tribune (Sept. 28, 2020) (online at
https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2020/09/28/va-secretary-wilkie-praises-veterans-aid-fort-harrison/3563206001/);
WATCH NOW: VA chief touts telehealth programs in Montana visit, Missoulian (Sept. 28, 2020) (online at
https://missoulian.com/news/local/watch-now-va-chief-touts-telehealth-programs-in-montana-visit/article_48b5bf72-a92a-5d2bb899-fdb42da7778d.amp.html)
15 Secretary Robert L. Wilkie, Twitter Post, (Sept. 28, 2020; 12:56 PM) (online at
https://twitter.com/SecWilkie/status/1310624339755241474?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet)
16 For example, see Under Secretary Paul Lawrence Live Tele-Townhalls, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) (Oct. 6,
2020) (online at: https://www.benefits.va.gov/benefits/teletownhall.asp); Center for Women Veterans (CWV) Events Calendar,
VA (Oct. 6, 2020) (online at https://www.va.gov/womenvet/calendar.asp); Second Lady Karen Pence Highlights Suicide
Prevention Research in Charleston, South Carolina, The White House (Sept. 2, 2020) (online at
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/second-lady-karen-pence-highlights-suicide-prevention-research-charlestonsouth-carolina/)
The Honorable Robert Wilkie
October 13, 2020
Page 5
Beyond Department officials' own travel, our initial investigation indicates that in 2020
the Department has and is preventing Democratic Members of the House and Senate from
visiting their local VA facilities to conduct oversight and meetings with local VA employees and
administrators while allowing Republican Members to do so. For example, VA staff were
scheduled to participate in an August 19, 2020, virtual townhall event organized by Chairman
Takano's congressional office regarding the Loma Linda, California facility. Shortly before the
event, your staff communicated that VA would no longer attend. However, on that same day VA
did participate in a different event involving a Republican Member of Congress in Louisiana
physically visiting a VA facility. Inconsistent and politically driven blocking of Members of
Congress conducting their oversight and legislative responsibilities is not acceptable or allowed
under law.
Given these stated concerns and the need to conduct further oversight, we request that
you provide the following documents and information:
1. Secretarial Travel from Present to Election Day 2020: Please provide a schedule for
all of your planned and proposed travel, speaking events, virtual events, and any other
official VA functions, political activities, or combination thereof between September 17,
2020 (the last date of your completed travel activity posted online by VA) and November
3, 2020. This information should include, at a minimum, for each event: draft or final
itineraries, the location(s), proposed speaker(s), purpose, key attendees, prepared remarks
and remarks as delivered, media strategy documents, media events participated in or
planned, invitation source to include first record of invitation in any form, invitation date,
draft and completed VA Office of General Counsel (OGC) event and trip review
paperwork or worksheets, White House17 involvement, and whether the travel is official
business, political, or mixed. This should include any communication regarding travel or
events, using official or unofficial channels, between your office and any campaign
entity, or intermediary of a campaign, to include, but not limited to, the White House, the
Trump 2020 campaign, the campaign of any member of the House or Senate, or
candidate for the House or Senate. Your response should also include any events you
attended or plan to attend, to include, but not limited to, campaign rallies, and what type
of funds and staff were used to support your travel to those events. Please include a list of
all political travel, fundraisers attended or reimbursements received or submitted to a
campaign entity during this time period.
2. Other VA Officials' Travel from Present to Election Day 2020: Please provide the
same information for the time-period as requested in bullet 1, but for all other sub-offices
of the Office of the Secretary as described in VA's Functional Organizational Manual,
18
the Office of the Deputy Secretary, and all other organizations, administrations, and

17 Any reference to the White House in this correspondence refers to all offices of the President, Vice President, and the
Executive Office of the President as described in the 2020 U.S. Government Manual and related organizational charts (Oct. 6,
2020) (online at
https://www.usgovernmentmanual.gov/Agency.aspx?EntityId=p0fnvDxExmY=&ParentEId=+klubNxgV0o=&EType=jY3M4CT
KVHY)
18 VA Functional Organizational Manual, Version 5.0, VA (Oct. 6, 2020) (online at https://www.va.gov/FOM-5-Final-July2019.pdf)
The Honorable Robert Wilkie
October 13, 2020
Page 6
offices listed on VA's website under the "all VA offices and organizations" page.19 This
should include all activities whether they are or were conducted by Under Secretaries,
Executives in Charge, Assistant Secretaries, or those in acting capacity or performing the
duties of those positions and anyone else within those organizations who participated in
such events or communications. Please also include this information for all advisory
committees of the Department whether self-created or required by statute.
3. All Secretarial Travel From Beginning of Trump Administration to Present: Please
provide the same information as requested in bullet 1, but for completed travel and events
and for all time periods between January 20, 2017 to September 17, 2020, for all
Secretaries, Acting Secretaries, or those performing the function of the Secretary. Please
also provide this information for every Trump Administration political appointee within
the Department for the same time period. Please include itemized costs for each trip/event
to include how the costs of travel and time of VA staff that accompanied you and other
officials mentioned in this bullet were accounted for, whether paid for by taxpayer funds,
reimbursed by a campaign or political party, or other source.
4. Under Secretary for Benefits Tele-Townhall Planning and Robocalls: For all Teletownhalls conducted by the Under Secretary for Benefits20 in 2020, both completed and
planned, to include between the date of this letter and November 3, please provide an
explanation for how each Tele-townhall was scheduled, who determined the sequence of
states, and who determined which states were to have two, three, or four Tele-townhalls
rather than only one and for what reason. Provide a list of any office, entity, organization,
including VA political appointees or White House officials who provided input or
direction on the planning or execution of Tele-townhalls. Please provide the total and
projected cost to conduct the Tele-town halls to include, but not limited to, government
staff time, overtime, and contractor support. Please also describe the Under Secretary for
Benefits' use of robocalls related to these Tele-townhalls or other Veterans Benefits
Administration activities and programs and the manner, targeting, message content,
scope, contract support, data security and privacy practices, and cost of the use of
robocalls.
5. Hatch Act Training, Guidance, and Oversight at VA: Please provide information on
the following: How does VA ensure compliance with the Hatch Act's restrictions on
political travel? What is the formula for apportioning costs incurred during travel that has
both official and political components? How do you and your staff handle travel requests
from other government officials or offices, whether it be the White House, a Member of
Congress, or a separate agency?
6. Political Appointee Involvement in Departmental Travel/Event Decisions: For every
event listed in response to all questions in this correspondence, please explain the role
and involvement of any official, by name, in the VA Office of Congressional and

19 Organizations U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs¸ VA (Oct. 6, 2020) (online at
https://www.va.gov/landing_organizations.htm)
20 Under Secretary Paul Lawrence Live Tele-Townhalls, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) (Oct. 6, 2020) (online at:
https://www.benefits.va.gov/benefits/teletownhall.asp)
The Honorable Robert Wilkie
October 13, 2020
Page 7
Legislative Affairs (OCLA), including the Assistant Secretary for Congressional and
Legislative Affairs; any official in the Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs
(OPIA), including but not limited to, the Assistant Secretary for OPIA, Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Public Affairs, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs
and its Executive Director, and Press Secretary; the Chief of Staff and Office of the Chief
of Staff; the Deputy Secretary and Office of the Deputy Secretary; and the Office of the
Secretary in vetting, organizing, selecting, negotiating, directing, and managing the
events and travel. The responses should also include the involvement of those officials
who were or are serving in acting capacities, or were or are performing the duties of those
positions since January 20, 2017 to the present.
7. Approving/Denying Congressional Visits to VA Facilities: Please describe how the
Department processes requests by House and Senate members to visit or hold meetings,
including virtually, at VA facilities, whether accompanying the Secretary, or other VA
official, or independently. Specifically, please include documentation sufficient to show
how VA intakes, reviews, and processes these requests to include decision-making
authority, and ensures that equal treatment is afforded to Members, regardless of party.
This response should include processes and procedures for all congressional requests of
this nature regardless of where the request was first received (e.g. the field, Regional
Office, VISN, or VA Central Office, etc.). For all requests in 2020, including requests for
visits after the date of this letter, please provide a list of all requests for congressional
visits (to include in-person and virtual events and visits), whether received by facilities,
OCLA, or any office or entity of the Department, to include who requested the visit, the
purpose of the visit and whether VA approved, approved as modified, or denied each visit
and the reason for the decision. Please also provide the name and official title of the final
decision maker for each congressional visit determination.
8. Non-official Communication Channels: Were any communications regarding matters
discussed in this correspondence conducted using non-official communications channels
such as, but not limited to, WhatsApp, Signal, personal e-mail, personal cell phone calls
and texts? If so, please provide those communications, and any written guidance or
policy documents that provide information on whether the use of those channels are
approved or disapproved at the Department.
VA has a noble mission. From delivering disability compensation, to providing health
care, to ensuring veterans have an appropriate final resting place, VA's impact on the everyday
lives of veterans and their families cannot be understated. That is why it is important to know
whether senior leaders of the Department are spending time and money, in the middle of a
pandemic, focused on political activities funded at taxpayer expense.
An enclosure to this letter provides additional information regarding how to respond to
our request. Further, please ensure preservation of all communications and documents
(including, but not limited to, phone records, written notes, and electronic communications)
concerning the planning, purpose(s), approval and authorization, scheduling, booking,
reimbursement, or coordination of any trips, events, and related matters. Also, please ensure
preservation of any records, receipts, files, materials, or documents concerning the planning,
The Honorable Robert Wilkie
October 13, 2020
Page 8
purposes(s), approval and authorization, scheduling, booking, reimbursement, or coordination of
any trips, events, and related matters. All agency staff should be notified immediately to preserve
all documents and communications in accordance with this letter. We remind you that
concealing, altering, removing, or destroying such records may constitute a crime, may result in
the immediate disqualification from holding a position in the federal government, and may be
punishable by up to three years imprisonment under federal law. Please note that this request
covers communications sent or received by government e-mail accounts, or other governmentapproved communication applications, as well as personal e-mail accounts and other methods of
communication.
We look forward to your prompt response to our requests for information and documents
within seven business days of the date of this letter.

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