Army general facing sex charges adding lawyers

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — An Army general charged with sexual misconduct has added civilian lawyers to his defense team.

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair appeared in a courtroom at Fort Bragg Thursday morning for a brief hearing on pre-trial motions. Sinclair faces court martial on charges that include forcible sodomy, indecent acts, violating orders and adultery. He has thus far deferred entering a plea.

The Army has rebuffed public records requests from The Associated Press for copies of motions filed in the case by the prosecution or defense.

Sinclair's team has added four attorneys from the firm Montgomery McCracken, based in New York and Philadelphia. They asked military judge Col. James Pohl to delay decisions on the motions to allow the civilian attorneys to review the issues.

Sinclair told the judge he "was concerned" about the military lawyers' ability to defend him adequately against the charges, but those concerns have been resolved. He said he wants to keep the three military attorneys in addition to the new lawyers, and he said the civilian lawyers pose no threat to his military lawyers' careers.

Pohl denied a defense motion to disqualify the military prosecutors because they might have seen emails between Sinclair and his lawyers that were erroneously sent to them. The judge also set a June 25 trial date in the case.

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Does this man think IF he has multiple attorneys....he will get a better deal.....perhaps this is right.....the more the merrier...

dollibug
February 21, 2013 5:41 p.m.

". . .Nothing worse than a power hungry j**k, but the military will do as they usually do, let the higher brass get away with ANYTHING & punish the lower ranking to the fulliest!" - unpublished_1

If getting away with something were the case, this would NEVER have seen the light of day. NO ONE would ever have known about this.

No matter how this turns out, the fact that this information has come out to the general public is important. It shows that "the top brass" are taking these allegations seriously.

Make no mistake about it, the General stands to lose EVERYTHING he's worked for in the military - reputation, retirement, pay, benefits (and for his wife) if he's convicted.

Because women seem to have been the "whistleblowers" in this case, their careers are OVER. Any time it comes down to a he said/she said, even if the man is guilty, the woman involved will pay far more (reputation, pay, work opportunities) than he ever will.

CuriousT
February 21, 2013 5:39 p.m.

" Remember, women have been taught by feminist groups for years, to use these kinds of allegations as a weapon."

Really? Do you have a source for that claim? If anything surveys indicate women way under report crimes of this nature.

Grand Union
February 21, 2013 12:54 p.m.

I hear Crystal Mangum just became available to defend the general. You go girl!

more cowbell
February 21, 2013 12:43 p.m.

Another individual using his power for NEGATIVITY! It happens a lot & nobody stands up to them. If he's guilty, HE NEEDS TO BE PUNISHED TO THE MAXIUM!!! Nothing worse than a power hungry j**k, but the military will do as they usually do, let the higher brass get away with ANYTHING & punish the lower ranking to the fulliest!

unpublished_1
February 21, 2013 11:16 a.m.