In the
past, I have been very critical of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and those politicians like
her, who continually push for reforms to the military justice system based on inaccurate
and slanted political narratives – and how those reforms are destroying the military
system as a “justice” system and attempting to push it as close to a “kangaroo
court” system as they can get it. So, I
(rhetorically) ask you, is Senator Kirsten Gillibrand a fraud and political
hack? The question is answered by her history of hypocrisy...
Perhaps no
one has been as vocal and influential in pushing for changes in the military
justice system that disadvantage those military members accused of rape and
sexual assault than Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.
Based on political pressure by Senator Gillibrand, and those working in
concert with her, the military justice system has instituted changes that have
pushed the narrative to “believe the victim,” presume the guilt of the accused
military member, limit the defense ability to investigate cases, raise
defenses, and confront complainants, and remove and punish commanders who are
not completely on board with this.
All of
these efforts stem from movements such as #metoo, #startbybelieving, #timesup. All of these efforts score Senator Gillibrand
political points.
Senator
Gillibrand’s latest military target was Air Force General John Hyten. Despite considerable evidence that the sexual
assault claims against him lacked merit, and the fact that the Air Force did
not pursue charges or adverse actions against him, Senator Gillibrand opposed
his nomination for Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and pressed the
narrative that the military’s investigation was flawed.
After her
failed attempt to be the democratic nominee for President of the United States,
Senator Gillibrand is now viewed as a possible running mate for Joe Biden, who
is the presumptive democratic presidential nominee. Even if Senator Gillibrand is not Joe Biden’s
pick for a running mate, she could receive an important position in his
administration, if he is elected. He is,
therefore, her potential political benefactor.
Inconveniently, Joe Biden is being accused of sexual assault by a former
female aide of his, Ms. Tara Reade, and he has been accused of other inappropriate
conduct toward women.
Based on Senator Gillibrand's very public stance regarding allegations of sexual assault in the military, and now faced with the allegations against Joe Biden, you would assume that Senator Gillibrand
would condemn Joe Biden, as Senator Gillibrand has condemned military members
facing the same type of allegations. You
would expect that Senator Gillibrand would insist that Joe Biden’s accusers
must be believed and supported, as she does with similar military cases. You
would expect that Senator Gillibrand would criticize any efforts to raise
questions about the merits of the allegations against Joe Biden, like she has argued to change the military justice system. But, you would be wrong to have such expectations
about Senator Gillibrand. She supports
Joe Biden in the face of these sexual assault allegations. As reported by Politico:
“On Tuesday, the day
Clinton endorsed Biden, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, one of the most outspoken
advocates of the #MeToo movement, was asked whether Democrats were
contradicting themselves with their handling of Reade’s accusations and those
against now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
“No, and I stand by Vice
President Biden,” Gillibrand said on a conference call. “He’s devoted
his life to supporting women, and he has vehemently denied this allegation.”
Given
that Senator Gillibrand blindly condemns military members accused of rape and
sexual assault, how is it possible that Senator Gillibrand would support Joe
Biden in the face of these latest allegations?
The answer seems obvious. It is politically
beneficial for Senator Gillibrand to now take a position supporting her potential
political benefactor even though that position is diametrically opposed to what
she says about military rape and sexual assault cases. This flip-flop is not surprising if you take a look at her history…
Kirsten Gillibrand
used to claim conservative political positions, when it was politically advantageous
to her winning an election to become a Congresswoman in a conservative district
in New York state. She was a gun rights
advocate. She took a conservative
position regarding immigration. Then, in
order to win a subsequent election to become a senator for the state of New
York, she changed her positions and became decidedly liberal. She opposed the conservative viewpoints
she previously championed. She convinced
her new liberal base that she had a change of heart from her previous conservative
positions, and they bought it.
At least
with regard to her changing political allegiances and her position criticizing and pushing for changes to the military
justice system, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand does not appear to be a person of
conviction and integrity. Rather, it
seems that she follows the political winds, and she argues for what she
believes will benefit her politically in the moment. When
it was politically advantageous, she argued for conservative positions. When it was politically advantageous, she reversed
her position. When it was politically
advantageous, she argued that complaining witnesses in military rape and sexual
assault cases must be believed. But now, when her potential political benefactor faces sexual assault and sexual harassment
allegations, Senator Gillibrand argues that the complainant should not be
believed and that Joe Biden deserves the benefit of the doubt.
This blog
post is not political. I’m not arguing
that the allegations against Joe Biden should or should not be believed. I am not arguing who should win the upcoming presidential
election. What I AM saying, is that
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has shown, through her political history and her support of Joe Biden in the
face of these sexual assault allegations, that she is a fraud and political
hack. I don’t care about the politics; I
care about the military justice system that she is continually tampering with.
I hope
that the next time Senator Gillibrand leads the politicians clamoring for military justice reform that
will further disadvantage military members accused of sexual assault by
complainants who Senator Gillibrand argues “must be believed,” that Gillibrand’s
hypocrisy and political opportunism in the past is brought up. It’s time that people start recognizing the
ugly truth of the slanted politics behind the changes in the military justice
system and the inaccurate and skewed narratives about the system that Senator
Gillibrand argues when it scores her political points to do so, and abandons
when it benefits her political career.
For more information
about the military justice system, particularly cases alleging rape and/or
sexual assault in violation of UCMJ Article 120, type "rape" or
"sexual assault" into the search bar above the blog posts and also see:
We offer free
consultations for a case you may be involved in. Just call us.
Thank you.
By: Attorney
Richard V. Stevens
Civilian criminal
defense lawyer and military defense lawyer
Military Defense Law
Offices of Richard V. Stevens, P.C.
Blog
postscript: I (attorney Richard V. Stevens) am a former active duty military
lawyer (JAG). My perspectives and advice, therefore, are based upon my
experience as military defense lawyer and as a civilian criminal defense lawyer
practicing exclusively in the area of military law and military justice. This
blog addresses issues in military law, military justice, military discipline,
military defense, court-martial practice, the Uniform Code of Military Justice
(UCMJ) and other military and/or legal topics. Nothing posted in this blog
should be substituted for legal advice in any particular case. If you seek
legal advice for a particular case, please contact The Law Offices of Richard
V. Stevens for a free consultation. These military defense law offices are
located in the Washington DC, Northern Virginia, Maryland, National Capital
Region (NCR), but the military defense representation is worldwide – when
necessary, the attorneys travel to wherever the client is stationed around the
world.
