President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Friday giving decisions on the prosecution of serious military crimes, including sexual assault, to independent military attorneys, taking that power away from victims’ commanders.
Members of Congress, frustrated with the growing number of sexual assaults in the military, fought with defence leaders for several years over the issue. They argued that commanders at times were willing to ignore charges or incidents in their units to protect those accused of offences and that using independent lawyers would beef up prosecutions. Military leaders balked, saying it could erode commanders’ authority.
The Pentagon had already been moving forward with the change. A year ago, the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force set up the new special trial counsel offices, which will assume authority over prosecution decisions by the end of this year. Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, that prosecution authority will expand to include sexual harassment cases.
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