Retired General James Cartwright Pleads Guilty to Misleading the FBI During Government Leaks Investigation

Dallas, TX -- (ReleaseWire) -- 11/29/2016 -- In mid-October, former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff James Cartwright pled guilty to the charge of making false statements to investigators looking into government leaks to the press about United States alleged disruption of Iran's nuclear program.

The prosecutor charged that Cartwright lied to FBI agents about information communicated to two journalists, David Sanger of The New York Times and Daniel Klaidman of Newsweek. Cartwright was accused of both giving classified information to Sanger and confirming it, and of confirming similar information to Klaidman. He was not charged with participating in the initial leaks, but for lying to FBI personnel who were investigating these leaks.

The charge is a felony that can bring a maximum sentence of five years in prison. However, the Retired Marine General's lawyer indicated that the government had agreed that the sentence is not likely to be longer than a maximum of six months.

Cartwright is slated to be sentenced in January.

The FBI was investigating leaks regarding an alleged joint U.S.-Israeli attempt to disrupt Iran's nuclear plan with computer viruses. The charges did not mention by name the Stuxnet computer virus program, which continues to be classified.

The general stated that he accepted full responsibility for misleading the FBI. However, he also said that he was not the journalists' original source, and spoke to reporters only to confirm information they already had.

Cartwright's attorney, Greg Craig, said that Cartwright had spoken to Sanger and Klaidman "to protect American interests and lives, in a story they had already written. In his conversations with these two reporters, Gen. Cartwright was engaged in a well-known and understood practice of attempting to save national secrets, not disclosing classified information."

Civilian military law attorney Patrick J. McLain doesn't quite see the justice in this, stating, "Prosecution of alleged misconduct with classified information continues apace in the military, regardless of the recent "pass" granted to former Secretary of State and Senator Hillary Clinton.  Though it is argued that general officers accused of classified information handling crimes are dealt with less harshly than lower ranking military personnel, they continue to be prosecuted; Although unlike their subordinates, general officers generally do not exercise as much prudence about their legal and constitutional rights, thereby making the cases against them arguably easier to prosecute."

General Cartwright served as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2007 to 2011. He was an important and close adviser to President Barack Obama. He also led the U.S. Strategic Command and is a former fighter pilot. He is an expert in U.S. nuclear capability and in cyber warfare.  Four years ago, The New York Times reported that the retired general was a key figure in a cyber attack termed "Olympic Games," which began in the administration of President George W. Bush. The attacks continued and increased during the Obama administration. In 2010, one such attack, using the Stuxnet computer virus, disabled 1,000 centrifuges utilized to enrich uranium in Iran.

About Patrick J. McLain, Judge Advocate and Attorney at Law
Civilian Military Law Attorney Patrick McLain has been diligently serving all five branches of the United States Armed Forces for almost 30 years. He graduated from the University of Texas School of Law in 1990, and went on to grow a successful law firm specializing in military law and criminal defense. In addition to serving as an adjunct instructor at various universities and naval schools across the country, he has received numerous honors and awards for both his civilian and military law achievements.

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Air Force Investigating Allegations of Sexual Misconduct Ranging From 2007 to 2009

Dallas, TX -- (ReleaseWire) -- 10/21/2016 -- The Air Force recently announced the investigation of sexual assault allegations against General Arthur J. Lichte, a retired four-star general who formerly led the Air Mobility Command. An Air Force spokesman has declined to supply any further information on the allegations or investigation at this time. Lichte has also declined to comment on the allegations against him.

John Q. Public (jqpublicblog.com), a private blog run by retired Air Force lieutenant Tony Carr that reports on United States Air Force news, initially broke the story of allegations against Lichte in late August. The blog revealed details of an internal Air Force memo that outlined the complaint of a female colonel against her commanding officer. This colonel alleged that her commander, now identified as Lichte, abused his power and rank to coerce or force "sexual contact" with her on three occasions between April 2007 and April 2009.
  
General Lichte is originally from New York City and joined the US Air Force in 1971, rising quickly through the ranks to eventually become a Command Pilot and Four-Star General. He retired on January 1st, 2010 after just over 38 years of service. Although the General is retired, he could still face penalties, pending the outcome of the investigation. Because of an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act in 2014, there is no longer a statute of limitations for sexual related offenses, and if the charges against Lichte are pursued, the incident has the potential to become the biggest sexual assault case against a general in United States military history.

In addition to any military repercussions Lichte may face, he could be ousted as a board member of Airbus, a position he's held for more than 6 years. As of now, Airbus won't comment other than to say that "As a policy, we don't publicly speculate on hypothetical situations".

Civilian military law attorney Patrick J. McLain, who has seen his fair share of political witch hunts in his years defending military personnel, commented, "The unusually zealous effort to bring a retired four-star general back on active duty in order to face criminal charges is especially peculiar, most notably because generals of this ranking are typically afforded the privilege of immunity from prosecution.  The intensity and depth with which military prosecutors are pursuing the retired general for sex crime allegations reveals how far they are willing to go to prosecute an increasingly higher number of sex crimes. The unbalanced and unreasonable campaign is now targeting one of the most highly ranked of military officers, and he needs to heed the advice he has given his subordinates for so long: invoke your right to remain silent, and seek the counsel of a defense lawyer."

The allegations against Lichte come at a time when criticism of the Pentagon's handling of sexual assault cases is at an all-time high. A May 2016 report from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D.-N.Y.) alleged that the military's legal system is flawed in its approach to the investigation and prosecution of officers and enlistees accused of sexual assault, citing a 22 percent prosecution rate in the representative cases reviewed in the report. A Pentagon report released the same month revealed that there were 6,083 reported allegations of sexual assault in the previous year, representing a small decrease of one percent compared to the prior year.

About Patrick J. McLain, Judge Advocate and Attorney at Law
Military Attorney Patrick McLain has been diligently serving all five branches of the United States Armed Forces for almost 30 years. He graduated from the University of Texas School of Law in 1990, and went on to grow a successful law firm specializing in military law and criminal defense. In addition to serving as an adjunct instructor at various universities and naval schools across the country, he has received numerous honors and awards for both his civilian and military law achievements.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Will military members who commit adultery face criminal penalties?

Dallas, TX -- (ReleaseWire) -- 09/04/2015 -- In most states in the nation, including the state of Texas, committing adultery is not a crime. However, the military of the United States—although not directly—does consider adulterous acts as criminal activity. With the recent release of approximately 10,000 military members' email addresses in association with the adulterous site Ashley Madison, some military members are wondering whether or not they'll face military penalties.

For those whose names have been released and are in need of legal counsel, a military defense advocate is key: http://www.patrickjmclain.com/practice-areas/military-criminal-defense

Prohibition of Adultery By U.S. Military Law

While it may be archaic, the U.S. military upholds a section of the Uniform Code of Military Justice that prohibits, "all disorders and neglects to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces, all conduct of nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces…" The code continues to name specific offenses, adultery being one of them. Furthermore, the law reads that if the code is violated, the violation may result in a punishment by court-martial.

Article 134, Chapter 60 of the Manual for Court Martial covers the offense of adultery. According to the article, three elements of proof must be satisfied in order to prove adultery. These are:

- That the accused had sexual intercourse with a person;

- That at the time of the sexual act, the accused person was married to another person (other than the person with whom they had sex); and

- That under the circumstances, the act of adultery "was to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces."

Criminal Penalties for Military Members Caught on Ashley Madison

With the release of so many military members' information in association with the Ashley Madison hack, the question of whether or not these military members will be court-martialed is looming. However, according to Victor Hansen, a former military prosecutor and defense attorney, it's unlikely that most—if any—of the troops would receive a court martial and or/and the maximum penalty for adultery, which is up to one year in prison and a dishonorable discharge. According to Hansen, it's more likely that affected military members will be quietly retired. In fact, even when adultery is committed, penalties are typically only imposed if it can be proven that the adulterous act brought discredit upon the armed forces.

If You're Facing a Military Court Martial

For those named in the Ashley Madison hack and who are worried about facing criminal penalties based on their status as members of the U.S. military, seek the help of a military defense attorney today.

About The Law Office of Patrick J. Mclain, PLLC
THE LAW OFFICE OF PATRICK J. MCLAIN, PLLC is a Dallas-based law firm specializing in criminal and military defense. Judge Advocate and Attorney at Law Patrick J. McLain has worked as a federal crimes lawyer for over 25 years.

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/08/19/ashley-madison-using-troops-may-have-bonked-their-careers

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Number of Reported Assaults Grossly Underestimated

Dallas, TX -- (ReleaseWire) -- 01/19/2015 -- A report released by the Department of Defense on Thursday, December 4, 2014 shows that the military is facing a high number of reported sex crimes – a thing that Washington officials like Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel are saying is a positive sign, indicative of the military's improvement in making victims of sex crimes more comfortable in reporting the offenses.

Reported Sex Crimes Higher Than Ever

The released report showed an increase of eight percent in the number of reported sex assault cases in the military. Last year, the number of reported sex crimes in the military was 5,938, compared with 5,518 the year before. Women are much more likely than men in the military to be victims, and despite the fact that women only make up 14 percent of the U.S. Army, the account for 95 percent of all sex crime victims.

Victims Fear Coming Forward

While the reported number of sex crimes has risen dramatically from 2006 – perhaps indicating that victims have a greater trust in the military justice system than every before – the actually number of sexual assault cases that have occurred, both reported and unreported, is overwhelming. According to a 1,100-page study order by President Obama, the number of sex crimes that occurred in 2014 within the military is over 19,000 – a number far greater than the reported 5,938. The pentagon says that the 19,000 is actually a decrease from 2012, in which an estimated number of 26,000 sexual assault crimes occurred. The numbers suggest that the actual number of crimes is declining while the number of reported crimes is increasing, a positive sign.

Another statistic within the document is also troubling: the report published that 62 percent of women in the military who reported being sexually assaulted experienced incidents of professional and social retaliation from colleagues and peers, according to a December 2014 article in The New York Times.

Legislation to Change Military Commanders' Decisions Regarding Sex Crimes Proposed

In March of 2014, the U.S. Senate voted on a bill that would change military commanders' abilities to make decisions about which sexual assault cases would be court-martialed, and which cases would instead go to uniformed prosecutors. Despite receiving 55 votes in favor, the legislation was five votes short of the required amount for passage, with opponents saying that the bill undermined commanders' authority, a risky thing to do within the military. Another vote on the legislation is planned.

New Initiatives Planned to Reduce Number of Sexual Assaults

Last year, Congress passed legislation for new initiatives, which are planned to go into effect in coming months. The initiatives include better training for military lawyers who prosecute sex crimes, more standardized training for the military's sexual assault response coordinators, a longer shelf life for records of sexual assault cases, and the transferring of troops who have been victims of sexual abuse. Many lawmakers are saying that the initiatives aren't significant enough.

A Dallas Sex Crime Defense Attorney Can Help

Facing sexual assault charges as a military member can be disastrous for personal life and career. If you've been charged with a military sex crime in Dallas, Texas, you need an experienced criminal and military defense attorney on your side. Attorney Patrick J. McLain can provide you with the representation you are entitled to. To receive a case consultation today, call us immediately at 469-331-9868.

Contact Information:
Patrick J. McLain, Judge Advocate and Attorney at Law
110 West C Street
Suite 712
San Diego, California 92101
619-241-2173

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