Bipartisan senators go head to head with military brass over sexual assault prosecutions

Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who has been fighting for years to change the way the military prosecutes sexual assault cases, is poised to finally remove those cases from the military's chain of command after the Pentagon's civilian leader endorsed the change last week.

But a major showdown is looming between lawmakers and military leaders over how the US armed forces overhaul their justice system to try to curb sexual assault within the military.
The lawmakers pushing for one of the most sweeping changes to the military's judicial code in recent memory say they still are concerned that the military -- and its allies in Congress -- will try to water down changes they argue are necessary after Pentagon leaders have repeatedly failed to address the problem of sexual assault.
As Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin endorsed the removal of sexual assault and other related cases from the military's chain of command last week, a key Senate opponent to changing the military's judicial code released letters from all of the Joint Chiefs of Staff written in May that raised concerns about making broad changes to the military justice system.
At issue now is how the military handles other major crimes beyond sexual assault. While Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley expressed openness to changing the way sex crimes are prosecuted in the military, Gillibrand and GOP Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa have written legislation that would move the decision to prosecute sexual assault, as well as most felony cases in the military, to independent prosecutors, away from military commanders.
Gillibrand argued that professional prosecutors, not commanders, should handle the prosecution decision for nearly all major felony cases, to address both the problem of sexual assault cases as well as a disparity in prosecutions affecting minority service members.