Carter pledges probe of sex assault testimony

Defense Secretary Ash Carter says he’s investigating claims that a Pentagon official misled Congress in testimony on sexual assault, as senators call for a meeting with Carter over the allegations.

“It’s important that we use accurate information to defeat this scourge,” Carter told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.

“Adm. [James] Winnefeld is an extremely honorable man, and I can’t imagine that he would ever give information that was not accurate and complete to the best of his knowledge. I have, in answer to your question, asked my staff to confirm the numbers that he gave. And we will, of course, report that to you.”

{mosads}At issue is testimony Winnefeld gave to the committee in 2013 while arguing against a bill that would have taken sexual assault cases outside the chain of command and given them to independent military prosecutors.

Winnefeld asserted civilian prosecutors refused to prosecute 93 cases of sexual assault that were later pursued by military commanders.

Last week, The Associated Press and advocacy group Protect Our Defense released reports alleging that was misleading. In two-thirds of cases the military identified, the defendant was not accused of sexual assault, civilian prosecutors did not decline the case, or the military failed to prosecute the offender for sexual assault, the Protect Our Defenders report said.

At Thursday’s committee hearing, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who introduced the bill derailed by the testimony, pressed Carter on the allegations.

“I’m obviously very troubled by these allegations that the department and specifically the military provided misleading information to Congress with the intent of defeating legislation that I and others on this committee introduced to address the scourge of sexual assault in the military,” she said.

When Carter said he was investigating the numbers, she countered that the mischaracterization of how the cases were handled was more the issue.

“You’re right; it’s not just the number,” Carter responded. “It’s important that we get it right.”

Gillibrand was joined by eight other senators in writing a letter to Carter asking for a meeting on the issue.

“We are deeply disturbed by the allegations in the two reports that the Department deliberately misled members as they were debating an issue of policy and oversight,” they wrote in a letter released publicly Thursday. “We are sure that you share our concerns and request a meeting with you to discuss these allegations as soon as possible.”

In addition to Gillibrand, the letter was signed by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii).

Gillibrand and Grassley previously wrote a letter to President Obama calling for an investigation into the allegations.

Protect Our Defenders on Thursday urged Congress to reconsider the bill that the testimony opposed.

“Instead of waiting for the same agency that misled them to provide more unreliable information, Congress should focus on holding the Pentagon accountable and solving this problem once and for all through legislation that removes commanders from deciding the fate of sexual assault survivors,” retired Col. Don Christensen, president of Protect Our Defenders, said in a written statement.

“And if Congress really wants to know how commanders address sexual assault cases, they should ask the Pentagon how many times in the last ten years a commander testified for the accused as character witness during the findings or sentencing stage of a court-martial.”