McMaster rebuked by Army in 2015 for handling of sexual-assault case

President Donald Trump’s new national security adviser, Lt. Gen. R. McMaster, was investigated by the Army and admonished two years ago for mishandling a case involving two junior offifficers accused of sexual assault, military documents show.

McMaster violated Army regulations by permitting the two lieutenants to attend the service’s elite Ranger School even though they were under criminal investigation, according to a report by the Army inspector general.

The c ase a g ainst them was dropped months later after the Army determined the alleged victim was not a credible witness.

For his oversight of the case, McMaster received a light rebuke, known as a “memorandum of concern,” from Gen. Daniel Allyn, the Army’s vice chief of staffffffffffff, in February 2015. The Washington Post obtained a copy of the documents from the Army under the Freedom of Information Act.

“I am disappointed with your actions,” Allyn wrote i n t h e m e m o r a n d u m which was not included in McMaster’s personnel fifile. “As a senior leader in the United States Army, you are expected and required to understand and comply with all laws and regulations.”

McMaster d e c l i ne d a n interview request. In a statement on his behalf, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said “Lt. Gen. McMaster has served alongside women, and benefited from their bravery and dedication, his entire career. As a commander he has been a leader in sexual assault prevention in each of his commands. To suggest otherwise is to unfairly impugn the character and integrit y of a true American hero.”

The case dates to 2013, when McMaster served as commanding general of Fort Benning, Ga., home of the Ranger School. At the time, the U.S. military leadership was under withering fire from Congress and the White House for failing to tackle an epidemic of sexual abuse in the ranks.