ETHICS/VA/VETS: “Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin improperly accepted a gift of Wimbledon tennis tickets, misspent taxpayer money and misused department resources in an official trip to Europe last year, according to an inspector general’s report released Wednesday [2-14-18].
The report also said a department employee acted as a ‘personal travel concierge’ during the trip to Europe and that Dr. Shulkin’s chief of staff made false claims to a VA ethics official by altering an email to get official approval for Dr. Shulkin’s wife to take part in the trip as an ‘invitational traveler,’ a status that meant the VA would cover her expenses. Her airfare cost taxpayers $4,312.
The inspector general referred the matter involving the chief of staff, Vivieca Wright Simpson, to the U.S. Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution. The report said the Justice Department chose not to prosecute the case… Attorneys for Dr. Shulkin wrote a response to the report that said the document is ‘one-sided’ and ‘casts aside evidence contradicting your chosen narrative.’
The response from the attorneys said the trip was ‘immensely valuable’ to the VA. They wrote that Dr. Shulkin violated no ‘ethical regulations’ in accepting the Wimbledon tickets. They said Dr. Shulkin had no role in obtaining approval for his wife’s travel, and that the department employee, ‘on his own initiative’ had undertaken the ‘detailed planning of tourist activities.’ “
-Ben Kesling and Peter Nicholas, “VA Secretary Shulkin Misused Department Resources in Trip to Europe, Inspector General Finds,” The Wall Street Journal online, Feb. 14, 2018 12:47pm