Defense Secretary supports taking decision to prosecute sexual assault cases out of chain of command

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will recommend to President Biden that decisions to prosecute cases of sexual assault should be taken out of the chain of command. Austin's recommendation comes amid increasing pressure from Congress to overhaul the system for addressing sexual assault in the military. 

"We will work with Congress to amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice, removing the prosecution of sexual assaults and related crimes from the military chain of command," Austin said in a statement. He is set to testify Wednesday before the House Armed Services Committee.  He said he will also support the inclusion of other special victims' crimes inside this independent prosecution system, including domestic violence, because of the correlation between these crimes and sexual assault.