I previously wrote about
the hypocrisy of those politicians, such as Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who
support Joe Biden and his candidacy for President of the United States, in the
face of sexual assault and sexual misconduct allegations – despite their stance
in alleged rape and sexual assault cases in the military justice system and
college disciplinary systems. See:
The hypocrisy arises based
on these politicians previously ravaging the military justice system and the
college disciplinary systems with their narratives that:
1. An allegation = guilt.
2. A complainant would not lie about a sexual
assault allegation.
3. From the outset, the complainant must be
believed.
4. The investigation should be limited to
finding evidence supporting the complainant and the allegation.
5. An investigation of the other side of the
case, and raising any questions about the complainant or the allegation, further
victimizes the complainant who is automatically telling the truth.
6. There should be severe restrictions on due
process and the defense ability to investigate the case, question the
complainant, and raise a defense.
7. There should be a presumption of guilt in
sexual assault cases (regardless of the presumption of innocence in America).
8. The military justice system and college
disciplinary systems should reflect these complainant-centric narratives.
One of the politicians who
believes this skewed, inaccurate, and dangerous narrative – which is, at its
core, un-American – is Congresswoman Jackie Speier. But before I get to her, things got even
stranger after that last blog post.
Women’s and victim’s
advocacy organizations began to make public statements in support of Joe Biden,
calling his denial of Tara Reade’s sexual assault allegations against him a positive
first step. This is unbelievable given
that these same groups, and the politicians working in concert with them, push
the narrative that military members denying such allegations are not to be
believed. Some military members who make
these denials are even being charged with false official statement, since the
denials “must be untrue.”
Then, vocal supporter for
this complainant-centric narrative, actress and #metoo activist Alyssa Milano, issued
a public statement that would have been heresy in these victim advocacy movements
before the allegations against Joe Biden.
Milano’s statement said, in part (cue the gasp):
“I think when we get into
this place of believing women, regardless of giving men due process, it
actually does more harm to the movement than good.”
Welcome to the problem,
Alyssa Milano. You’re a little late to
the party.
And, right on cue, Democratic
Congresswoman Jackie Speier has now ensured that confusion and hypocrisy rule
the day. She has always been a very
vocal advocate of the “allegation = guilt” narrative in sexual assault cases. But, she still supports Joe Biden’s candidacy
for President. She has not dropped that
support. Confused yet?
Yesterday, U.S. Secretary
of Education, Betsy Devos, announced changes to the college disciplinary
system, to allow for basic due process for those accused of sexual assault. In response, Congresswoman Speier, who endorses
the man most currently famous for being accused of sexual assault, has doubled
down on her opposition to due process for the accused in college allegations of
sexual assault. She issued a scathing
public statement opposing the idea that the accused should have basic due
process protections, arguing, in essence, that it victimizes complainants who
should automatically be believed!
Confused now?
Finally, at least for today’s
bizarro-world update, Joe Biden then issued his own public statement promising
that if he is elected President, he will reverse these new rules! He stated:
[The new college due
process rules] “shame and silence” survivors of sexual assault. He went on to state “It’s wrong, and, it will
be put to a quick end in January 2021, because as president, I’ll be right
where I always have been throughout my career – on the side of survivors, who
deserve to have their voices heard, their claims taken seriously and
investigated, and their rights upheld.”
Unbelievable! Hypocrisy appears to be the new normal. The military justice system, the college disciplinary
system, and public discourse about sexual assault allegations and due process
are all suffering due to the shameless, abject hypocrisy of these politicians. It is disgraceful.
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.
