THE TOPLINE: The fight over an amendment on military sexual assaults heated up as the Senate began debate on its annual defense policy bill.
Supporters of the amendment fired off two letters Monday. In one, a bipartisan group of senators called on President Obama to open up an independent investigation into allegations the Pentagon misled Congress on the issue. In another, the author of the report making the allegations shot back at the Pentagon’s criticisms and asked for a sit down with Defense Secretary Ash Carter.
At issue is an April report from Protect Our Defenders alleging the Pentagon misled Congress in testimony on sexual assault.
In 2013, a then-Pentagon official claimed military commanders pursued cases that civilian prosecutors refused to take up. But the Protect Our Defenders report says that in two-thirds of cases the military identified, the defendant was not accused of sexual assault, civilian prosecutors had not declined case or the military had failed to prosecute the offender for sexual assault.
The amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would take the decision to prosecute those cases away from commanders and give it to independent military prosecutors.
ISIS WAR AUTHORIZATION TIED TO DEFENSE BILL: Another amendment to the defense bill filed Monday would get senators on record about whether the 2001 and 2002 war authorizations apply to the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The Hill’s Jordain Carney has the details:
A bipartisan group of senators are tying a fight over authorizing the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) to a wide-ranging defense policy bill currently before the Senate.
Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that backs curtailing a president’s powers to fight ISIS without specific authorization from Congress.
“It is the sense of Congress that the president, unless acting out of self-defense or to address an imminent threat to the United States, is not authorized to conduct military operations against ISIS without explicit authorization for the use of such force,” according to the amendment.
The proposal would also find that neither a 2001 authorization or a 2002 authorization–both of which have been cited by the Obama administration–apply to the current fight against ISIS.
TRUMP ADVISER SUPPORTS SYRIA SAFE ZONES: A retired general who is advising presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump supports setting up “safe zones” in Syria, he said Monday.
The Hill’s Kristina Wong has more:
The Obama administration has rejected creating air and ground zones in Syria for two reasons: a declaration of a no-fly zone would be an act of war against Syria, and it would take additional air assets as well as ground troops to patrol the zones around the clock.
But retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who advises Trump, told “The Hugh Hewitt Show” that he backs creating the safe zones.
“If we know that their headquarters exist in a place called Raqqa, Syria, we should eliminate — we should destroy Raqqa, Syria. We should create, you know, safety zones, flight zones, whatever, both ground and air,” he said.
NAVY BANS ALCOHOL ON JAPAN BASES: U.S. sailors in Japan have been banned from drinking alcohol on their bases after a series of incidents deemed “detrimental to the U.S.-Japan alliance,” the Navy said in a statement Monday.
Navy personnel also will no longer be able to leave their bases in their free time.
“These measures are not taken lightly,” Rear Adm. Matthew Carter, commander of naval forces in Japan, said in the statement. “For decades, we have enjoyed a strong relationship with the people of Japan. It is imperative that each sailor understand how our actions affect that relationship, and the U.S.-Japan alliance as a whole.”
Monday’s order follows the arrest of a Navy petty officer Saturday on suspicion of drunken driving after a head-on car crash in Okinawa.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee hosts a hearing on “Russian Violations of Borders, Treaties, and Human Rights” at 2:15 p.m. at the Senate Dirksen Office Building, Room 419. https://1.usa.gov/1WzvLiu
The House Veteran Affairs Committee will look into the VA and its academic affiliations at 4:15 p.m. at the Cannon House Office Building, Room 334. https://1.usa.gov/1U04WRa
