U.S. Senate Archives - Missourinet

U.S. Senate Democrats split on proposals to handle military sexual assaults (VIDEO)

July 29, 2013 By Mike Lear

A rift has formed between U.S. Senate Democrats over the best way to improve the military’s handling of sexual assault cases.

Senators Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri), Kelly Ayotte (R-New Hampshire) and Jon Tester (D-Montana) are joined by retired military women who support Sen. Ayotte's proposals for the handling of military sexual assaults. (photo courtesy: the office of Senator McCaskill)

Senators Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri), Kelly Ayotte (R-New Hampshire) and Jon Tester (D-Montana) are joined by retired military women who support the Armed Services Committee’s proposals for the handling of military sexual assaults. (photo courtesy: the office of Senator McCaskill)

Military unit commanders have the say in whether prosecution of soldiers under their command for serious crimes, proceeds. One proposal from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) would give that final decision to Judge Advocate General attorneys.

Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) backs proposals that she helped write, in a defense bill approved last month by the Senate Armed Services Committee. Those make other changes but keep the decision whether to proceed with prosecution with commanders.

McCaskill says it will better serve victims in several ways, including affording greater protection to victims from retaliation.

“If you’ve been victimized and you go back in the unit, do you think it’s more likely you’re going to get retaliation if a bunch of outside lawyers have said to go forward or if the commander has said to go forward? A level of protection comes to the victim because the commander has said, ‘We’re going to get to the bottom of this.'”

McCaskill also refutes arguments made by backers of Gillibrand’s proposal that countries using systems that hers would mirror would see more reporting and prosecution of assaults.

“None of the nations that have changed their systems have had an increase in reporting. The data does not support that position. Secondly we know that literally dozens and dozens and dozens of cases just in the last two years, prosecutors turned down the cases and commanders said, ‘Go ahead.’ We know that if prosecutors are the last say, that we will have fewer prosecutions.”

Several retired military women joined Senator McCaskill at a media conference to offer their support for the proposals.

Retired Army Judge Advocate Lisa Schenck

Retired Army Judge Advocate Lisa Schenck says those proposals would empower victims, including through the requirement that a Special Victims’ Counsel be provided to offer legal advice and assistance to service members who are victims of sexual assault by a member of the U.S. military.

“They need to go to their attorney, their counsel, and they need to be told where they can report. There are nine other places to report aside from the chain of command in the Army … the other thing they need to be told is, they can initiate the court-martial process themselves by preferring charges … they don’t have to wait for the JAG office, they don’t have to wait for the commander, and that’s what that victim counsel is going to tell them.”

Both plans have bipartisan backing.

McCaskill’s position has earned her criticism from some former supporters, including a Navy veteran who was raped in 1986, campaigned for McCaskill last year and now has been featured in a half-page ad in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch calling McCaskill’s approach misguided.

The Armed Service Committee’s proposals would still strip commanders of authority to dismiss court-martial convictions for most offenses and require that any case in which a commander overrules the advice of a Staff Judge Advocate to proceed to court-martial be referred to the civilian Service Secretary for a final decision.

Other changes they would make are:

· Make it a punishable offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice to retaliate against a victim who reports a criminal offense

· Require a commander, when serving as a convening authority in a military court-martial, to provide written justification for any modifications made to a sentence

· Require a commander, when serving as a convening authority in a military court-martial, to receive input from the victim before arriving at any decision during clemency proceedings

· Require that a person found guilty of an offense of rape, sexual assault, forcible sodomy, or an attempt to commit any of those offenses receive a punishment that includes, at a minimum, a dismissal or dishonorable discharge

· Eliminate the five-year statute of limitations for sexual assault and sexual assault of a child

· Ensure the military has the authority to move an individual accused of sexual assault from a unit to protect a victim from unwanted contact with their alleged attacker, while sustaining a victim’s right to request expedited transfer

· Provide for study of the military’s ability to create a database of information regarding those accused by victims in restricted military reports-meaning the victim chooses to not have the information given to law enforcement, commanders, or others to facilitate potential prosecution-such that serial offenders might be identified and victims might be encouraged to make unrestricted reports that allow for prosecutions in those cases

· Express the Sense of the Senate that commanding officers are responsible for a command climate that appropriately handles sexual assault, that failure of a commanding officer to maintain such a command climate is an appropriate basis for relief of their command position, and that command climate should be a consideration in a commander’s performance evaluation

· Remove the past performance and character of an accused from those factors that may be considered by a commander, when serving as a military courts-martial convening authority, in deciding whether to refer a case to court-martial

· Provide that in sexual assault cases in which a Staff Judge Advocate and a Commander, when serving as a military courts-martial convening authority, agree that a case should not proceed to court-martial, the next higher military commander also review this determination

See the media conference, courtesy of the office of Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-New Hampshire):

Former Senate candidate Brunner calls political system ‘broken’

January 21, 2013 By Mike Lear

After losing in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, St. Louis businessman John Brunner says he’s learned the deck is stacked against political newcomers.

Former U.S. Senate candidate John Brunner.

Brunner is still busy in politics, but his focus now is on supporting others. He says there are people like state lawmakers, people who lost in the last election and those looking at getting into politics that need inspiration and guidance, which he believes he can offer.

But, he calls the political system “broken,” saying it works against the success of anyone but career politicians.

“It takes so many resources to be able to run an effective campaign, so if you are not full-time in politics spending a whole career building your name I.D., using other people’s money campaign after campaign after campaign, you’re locked out. On the other reverse, you find people who start in politics, spend their entire career and they leave multi-millionaires. That’s wrong as well.”

Still, Brunner says he believes people with backgrounds outside of politics need to get involved in their government.

“At any level, you’re going to have to find people that are willing to get involved and get engaged and see how you can help them, but I tell you … the money hurdle is very difficult and it makes me sick that that’s what’s preventing a lot of good people from getting involved in public office.”

Brunner lost the Republican nomination for Senate to Todd Akin, who went on to lose the Senate seat to incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill. Brunner doesn’t say whether he thinks Akin’s controversial comments, including some about abortion, played a role in that outcome.

“I go back to the fundamentals. You have to be organized, you have to have a team, you have to pull people together and regrettably we didn’t have the organization and support in terms of our ability to get the ball across the goal line, and I think a lot of people have recognized that we can’t beat each other up in primaries if we plan to have any kind of victory in the general election.”

Brunner says he doesn’t know if he’ll run for anything again.

Akin on late-race polls, campaign finances and messages

August 3, 2012 By Mike Lear

Congressman Todd Akin says he’s not concerned by polls early this week that showed him trailing Sarah Steelman and John Brunner in the GOP Senate race.

Congressman and U.S. Senate hopeful Todd Akin contines a tour of the state today in St. Louis.

Akin says he’s been through campaigns before, and he doesn’t trust the results of polls that come out this close to an election.

“Part of it’s because, who can predict the people that are going to be … whatever, 100 degrees August 7? That are gonna be at the polls? I think it’s very hard to know. So the polling data is traditionally very tricky at this time, plus you’ve got people putting the last of their money into advertising and other kinds of campaign activities.”

Akin says he believes the race for the seat of Senator Claire McCaskill is still close between the three frontrunners.

“The fact that we’ve had Huckabee supporting us has been very strong for us … and I think the fact that I have a proven record and people know what they’re getting with me, and the fact that I was willing to vote against my own party in some very high-profile votes indicate that I’m trying to put principle first.”

Akin’s campaign has focused much of its attention on its message in recent weeks, and accuses his opponents of turning to negative attack ads. “We don’t really think that running other Republicans down to build yourself up is really a very honest or good way to do things, and so we’ve rejected that and decided that we’re going to talk just about what’s positive and where we need to be going as a nation.”

Akin says his campaign has surpassed those of his opponents in grassroots efforts and message, but financially it’s been more of a challenge.

“I’ve raised more money five quarters running than my two opponents, but both of them have received … one has written himself seven million dollars, so he’s trying to buy the race, and the other one has gotten some very big contributions in the super PACs, so it’s like one or two people giving big, big blocks of money.”

Of the endorsement of Steelman by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, Akin says it could cost him votes. “Sarah Palin has tended to endorse women around the country and so it doesn’t surprise us that she might jump into this race … She’s not very predictable a lot of times where she jumps or who she jumps but it seems like there is a pattern that she’s very much more of the sort of the feminist side of jumping into … the women running in various races.”