Biden signs historic order moving prosecution of military sexual assault outside chain of command

President Joe Biden on Friday ordered a historic change to the Uniform Code of Military Justice by transferring key decision-making authorities outside the military chain of command in cases of sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, murder and other serious crimes.

The order, which the administration is calling "the most significant transformation of the military justice system since the UCMJ was established in 1950," officially implements changes passed by Congress as part of fiscal year 2022's National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and comes two years after an independent review commission on sexual assault in the military, formed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, recommended moving prosecution of sexual assault in the military outside the chain of command.

Key among the changes in the order is the establishment of rules to govern the newly formed Offices of Special Trial Counsel (OSTC) which, composed of a panel of independent military prosecutors, would make prosecutorial decisions involving sexual assault and other violent crimes.

On a call with reporters previewing the executive order, a senior administration official called the move "a turning point for survivors of gender-based violence in the military."

"These changes follow decades tireless efforts by survivors, advocates and members of Congress to strengthen the military justice systems response to gender-based violence," the official said. "As Secretary Austin has said many times, this is a leadership issue, and we believe this historic order demonstrates that leadership."

It "took time" for the Department of Defense to put the services in place, the White House said Friday, calling it a "monumental change" to the current system of military justice.

"You had to basically create a separate system just to handle these crimes," National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby told CNN's Kayla Tausche during a call with reporters. "And that meant standing up offices, that meant manning those offices, that meant getting trained investigators and prosecutors in those offices, and setting up the structure and that just took a took a little bit of time."