Kyrsten Sinema, a Democratic congresswoman from Arizona, sent this email Tuesday:
The email references reports that at least 40 veterans died waiting for appointments with the Phoenix Veteran Affairs system.
At least 40 veterans awaiting appointments with the Phoenix Veterans Affairs health care system died, CNN reported. The veterans were placed on secret wait list that was part of a plan by Phoenix Veterans Affairs officials to hide that between 1,400 and 1,600 veterans had to wait months to see a doctor.
CNN reported there were two lists of veterans waiting to see doctors. There was a list shared with Veteran Affairs officials in Washington, D.C., showing veterans had timely appointments and a list that was hidden with the lengthy wait times.
The links in the email go to a petition page, demanding an investigation of the deaths.
But the bottom of the page also has a contribute button following her signature:
The button leads to this donations page:
Anne Lewis, the CEO of Anne Lewis Strategies who runs the digital program for Kyrsten Sinema for Congress said the addition of the contribute button was mistake.
"Due to a mistake on our part, an email sent earlier today inadvertently used the wrong template and redirected users to the wrong landing page. We sincerely apologize to Rep. Sinema – and anyone who received the message – for our error, which is particularly unfortunate because we know how passionate the Congresswoman is about caring for our returning veterans."