Justice Silent on KBR Rape, Sex Assault Cases

Jan. 15, 2008— -- The Justice Department is declining to talk to concerned lawmakers about its handling of rape and sexual assault cases involving American women in Iraq, making several of them unhappy.

Rep. Ted Poe of Texas, a Republican who counts one of the alleged victims as a constituent, has railed against the Justice Department and others for their lack of cooperation.

"Who's in charge here?" he asked in one recent press release. "This is not a case of 'ignore it and it will go away.'"

Following news accounts that American women working for contractor KBR/Halliburton have reported being sexually assaulted or raped in Iraq, Poe and six Democratic lawmakers have asked Attorney General Michael Mukasey to give details on how the cases have been investigated, why no charges have been made, and why Mukasey's staff has reportedly declined to prosecute at least one case which featured a confession of physically harassing behavior by the accused assailant.

"We still have heard nothing from your office," Democratic Sens. Daniel Akaka, Hawaii; Barack Obama, Ill.; and Jon Tester, Mont., wrote to Mukasey late last week. The trio had written to Mukasey three weeks earlier on the matter.

By contrast, the Departments of State and Defense, which were both involved in aspects of the cases, have reportedly responded to several lawmakers. The Department of Defense declined lawmakers' requests to investigate one case from 2005, because the Justice Department said it was conducting a criminal investigation into the matter.