Washington (CNN) The chief of staff for Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin altered an email and made false statements to a department ethics official that led to taxpayers covering expenses for Shulkin's wife on an official trip to Europe last summer, the agency's inspector general found. Vivieca Wright Simpson, Shulkin's chief of staff, altered language in an email regarding the logistics of the trip that made it seem as though Shulkin and his wife had been invited to a "special recognition dinner" held by the Danish government. That led to the department paying for Shulkin's wife's more than $4,000 in airfare, according to the report which was released Wednesday. The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General referred those allegations to the Justice Department, which decided not to prosecute at this time, according to the IG report. A VA spokesman did not respond to CNN's inquiry as to whether Wright Simpson remains on staff.

Source: CNN February 14, 2018 16:52 UTC