Defense Secretary Promises To Examine Military’s Policy For Convicting Rapists

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel’s response to Congressional inquiries about what, if anything, he can do following an overturned sexual assault conviction in the Air Force lays bear just how far the military has to go in providing justice to victims of sexual violence.

At issue is Air Force Lt. Gen. Craig Franklin decision to overturn a jury’s conviction in the case of Lt. Col. James Wilkerson on charges of aggravated sexual assault. Wilkerson’s reinstatement in the Air Force last week, where his only punishment appears to be his removal from the possibility of promotion, and the dismissal of the jury’s ruling sparked outrage.

Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) wrote to Secretary Hagel, demanding to know what action could be taken in the case. In his response [PDF], Hagel informed the senators that Lt. Gen. Franklin’s decision as the convening authority — or the officer who initiated a court-martial — “cannot be changed, either by the Secretary of the Air Force or by the Secretary of Defense per title 10 U.S.C. 860.”

However, the Secretary added that a review of the Uniform Code of Military Justice’s statutes on convening authorities had already been launched:

I have directed the Secretary of the Air Force, in coordination with the Acting General Counsel of the Department of Defense, to review this case to assess whether all aspects of the UCMJ were followed, and, after consultation with the Secretaries of the Army and the Navy, to report to me on whether the case points to changes that should be considered in the UCMJ, or in the military services’ implementation of the UCMJ and, if so, what changes should be made.

Senator Boxer appeared to take Hagel’s letter well, issuing a press statement praising the swift response. “I am heartened that Secretary Hagel is taking immediate action to review the facts of this troubling case and acknowledges that it is high time to take a hard look at how the military handles sexual assault cases,” Boxer said.

Despite Boxer’s enthusiasm, it appears that the actions available to Hagel are limited under current legislation. While the 2013 NDAA put into place several reforms to better prevent and respond to sexual assault, none of them deal with the issues at play in the case of Wilkerson. Rep. Jackie Spier (D-CA) in response to the situation, has announced that she’ll introduce legislation on Tuesday to specifically reform the convening authority.

Spier’s legislation could be part of the solution suggested by Yale Law Professor Eugene Fidell to “abandon the command-centric aspect” of the military’s justice system. Fidell is in favor of implementing such changes as adding a military trial bench, two tiers of specialized appellate courts, and a clemency and parole system. Along with removing the authority of commanders to block courts-martial in the first place, Fidell believes that the U.S. military’s justice system could in this way shift away from its 18th century foundations. “The switch should not be in the hands of a non-lawyer,” Fidell said, in an interview with ThinkProgress.

All told, sexual assault remains an under-reported phenomenon within the military, with an estimated 19,000 instances of Military Sexual Trauma (MST) thought to have occurred in 2011 alone. Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in a public statement last week acknowledged that officials in the military often “look the other way” in instances of sexual violence.

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GSK promises to publish detailed drug trial data

* UK drugmaker paid $3 bln last year to settle fraud case

* Company criticised for keeping medicine data secret

* Will publish detailed clinical study reports

* Historical data back to 2000 will also be revealed

LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline , which paid $3 billion last year to settle charges that it gave misleading information on its medicines, said on Tuesday it would publish more of its clinical research data.

When the company agreed to the fines last July, government officials called it the largest healthcare fraud case in U.S. history, involving Glaxo drugs such as the antidepressant Paxil and diabetes pill Avandia.

Other firms have also reached settlement deals and the industry has come under growing pressure from campaign groups to release all their clinical trial data.

GSK said it would publish the results of clinical study reports (CSRs) and clinical trials, showing its commitment to transparency.

The company already promised in October 2012 to make data from its clinical trials available to other researchers. This would include patient-level results that sit behind trials of approved and failed drugs.

"Expanding on this, GSK is committing to make CSRs publicly available through its clinical trials register," the company said in a statement.

CSRs are formal study reports that provide more detail on the design, methods and results of clinical trials and form the basis of submissions to regulators such as the United States Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency.

The drugmaker said that it would now publish CSRs for all its medicines once they are approved or discontinued from development. This would allow for the data to be first reviewed by regulators and the scientific community, it said. Patient data will be removed to ensure confidentiality.

Patrick Vallance, GSK's president of pharmaceuticals research and development, said the promises were aimed at helping "advance scientific understanding and inform medical judgment".

"Our commitment also acknowledges the very great contribution made by the individuals who participate in clinical research," he said in the statement.

In an apparent effort to put its past record straight, GSK also said it intends to publish CSRs for clinical outcomes trials for all approved medicines dating back to the formation of the company in 2000.

It said this would take time and resources as it would require retrieval and examination of each historic CSR to remove confidential patient information.

"Given the significant volume of studies involved, the company will put in place a dedicated team to conduct this work which it expects to complete over a number of years," it said.

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UPDATE 1-GSK promises to publish detailed drug trial data

* Drugmakers under fire for keeping medicine data secret

* New move builds on previous GSK pledge to be more open

* GSK will now publish detailed clinical study reports

* Industry critic Ben Goldacre says GSK move "excellent"

LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Britain's largest drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline is extending a promise to make more of its pharmaceutical research data public by publishing detailed clinical study reports as well as the results of all drug trials.

The decision marks a new level of openness in the drugs industry that other companies may be under pressure to follow. Drugmakers have long been criticised for keeping important information about their medicines under wraps.

Ben Goldacre, a British doctor and author of "Bad Science" and "Bad Pharma", who has led a campaign called AllTrials urging clinical study report (CSR) disclosure, said GSK's support for the initiative was "excellent and amazing".

GSK, which agreed a $3-billion U.S. settlement last year over misleading information about some of its drugs, already said in October it would make anonymised patient-level data from clinical trials available to other researchers.

"Expanding on this, GSK is committing to make CSRs publicly available through its clinical trials register," the firm said in a statement on Tuesday.

CSRs are formal study reports that provide more detail on the design, methods and results of clinical trials and form the basis of submissions to regulators such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency.

Campaigners argue that CSRs are essential to assess the real value of medicines because brief summaries about trials, such as those published in academic journals, can be incomplete.

GSK said that from now on, it would publish CSRs for all of its medicines once they have been approved or discontinued from development. This would allow for the data to be first reviewed by regulators and the scientific community, it said. Patient information will be removed to ensure confidentiality.

Patrick Vallance, GSK's president of pharmaceuticals research and development, said the promise was aimed at helping "advance scientific understanding and inform medical judgment".

"Our commitment also acknowledges the very great contribution made by the individuals who participate in clinical research," he added.

Demands for greater transparency by the drug industry have come to a head in Britain with the AllTrials campaign, whose supporters include the group Sense About Science, the British Medical Journal and the Centre for Evidence-based Medicine.

In an apparent effort to put its past record straight, GSK also said it intends to publish CSRs for clinical outcomes trials for all approved medicines dating back to the formation of the company in 2000.

It said this would take time and resources as it would require retrieval and examination of each historic CSR to remove confidential patient information.

"Given the significant volume of studies involved, the company will put in place a dedicated team to conduct this work which it expects to complete over a number of years," it said.

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Gore presses Obama to ‘follow through’ on climate change promises

President Obama "has to follow through" on his commitment to address climate change, even if it means using executive powers to get around congressional gridlock, according to former Vice President Al Gore.

Obama should "move boldly" on the agenda he articulated in his second inaugural address, which included strong words about addressing climate change, Gore said in an interview on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS."

While efforts to tackle climate change would run into GOP opposition in Congress, Gore said the president had ample powers to bear from the executive branch in addressing the issue.

"There are some actions he can take that do not require congressional approval," he said. "There is a law on the books that requires the EPA to regulate pollution. The Supreme Court has agreed with the obvious interpretation that global warming pollution is pollution. It's been applied to new coal plants. It should be applied to all facilities."

After taking his oath of office for a second term, Obama vowed the U.S. would "respond to the threat of climate change," and jabbed at climate skeptics blocking such efforts.

"Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms," he said. "The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it."

Gore said he believes Obama has found a "new firmness" entering his second term when it comes to dealing with GOP opposition, which made itself evident during his standoff over the "fiscal cliff" at the end of 2012.

"I think that he's learned a great deal during his first term. I don't want to sound patronizing in saying that. I've learned a great deal from watching his first term," he said. "But I think that you already see a greater depth and sophistication in his approach."

Accompanying Obama's new resolve is a "wariness" by Republicans to stand in the way of all his efforts, he argued.

"There is a new awareness, that the American people don't want gridlock. They don't want sclerosis," he said. "They don't want this hyper-partisanship."

On other issues, Gore said that the influx of corporate money into the political process has "functionally corrupted" democracy, and called for comprehensive campaign finance reform.

"The Congress now finds it virtually impossible to pass any kind of reform unless they first get permission from the special interests who are most involved with the issue involved and who finance their campaign," he said. "And that's pitiful."

Gore also defended the sale of his TV news network, Current TV, to Al Jazeera America. He called the new owners a "highly respected international news gathering organization."

"I think the net result, it's going to be very positive for the American media landscape," he said.

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