Subpoena for CBS News interviews "sends a chilling message" to victims in sexual abuse case against Army doctor, advocates say
Advocates for victims of sexual assault are speaking out against an effort by lawyers for an Army doctor, accused of abusing more than 40 patients, to obtain unbroadcast footage of CBS News interviews with two of his accusers ahead of court martial proceedings against him.
The defense has demanded CBS News turn over unaired footage from interviews conducted with two retired soldiers who spoke to CBS News, with their faces in shadow and their identities protected, in a report that first aired on "CBS Mornings" in February. In the broadcast interviews, the two men described alleged misconduct that occurred under the guise of medical care from Maj. Michael Stockin.
"Survivors have already faced unimaginable trauma," said Josh Connolly, senior vice president of the victims' advocacy group Protect Our Defenders. "Their courage in sharing their stories should be met with unwavering support and protection, not further exposure and risk."
Connolly said the subpoena seeking CBS News' footage "risks undermining the trust and safety that survivors deserve, and it sends a chilling message to others who may be considering coming forward."
CBS News reached out to the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, which declined to comment, saying they have not seen the statement from Protect Our Defenders.
Stockin, an anesthesiologist at the pain management clinic at Madigan Army Medical Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, faces 47 counts of abusive sexual contact and five counts of indecent viewing under the Military Code of Justice, involving 41 alleged victims who were his patients, according to the Army. Stockin was arraigned on the charges in February.
The Army says that Stockin remains suspended from patient care but still has administrative duties at Madigan Medical Center in a non-clinical area. The trial in this case is scheduled for January 2025.
Stockin has entered a plea of not guilty.
In a statement to CBS News, Robert Capovilla, an attorney for Stockin, said that the defense is "entitled to all statements" from the alleged victims about their allegations.
"This evidence is vital for the Defense to properly prepare for trial and to ensure that Major Stockin's rights are upheld. It's unconstitutional to suggest that the Defense is not entitled to the statements made by the alleged victims themselves about their own allegations," Capovilla said. "The victim advocates suggesting this denial of evidence wish to deny Major Stockin a fair trial and that should terrify every person who believes in the due process of law."
An Army judge will hear arguments Thursday on the CBS News motion for the court to reject the defense's demand for the unaired interview footage. In response, defense attorneys for Stockin are asking the judge in the case to deny that request, claiming "this evidence is vital to MAJ Stockin receiving a fair trial," according to a court filing on the matter.
Both of the men who spoke with CBS News earlier this year have shared their allegations with military investigators and anticipate that they would eventually be publicly identified as victims at trial as part of the criminal case pending against Stockin. They spoke with CBS News with the condition that they not be identified, saying they feared retaliation. CBS News recorded the interviews in shadow and did not identify them by name in its broadcast.
In asking the military judge to throw out the subpoena, attorneys for CBS News argued the interviews with confidential sources should be protected under widely accepted reporter's privilege and that the request was "nothing more than a fishing expedition."
"That privilege protects journalists against the compelled disclosure of their confidential sources and unpublished newsgathering material, like the unpublished footage here that implicates CBS's confidential sources," wrote Michael Berry, an attorney representing CBS News.
In a court filing on the matter, prosecutors said, "There is nothing in the aired footage that indicates the alleged victims stated anything inconsistent with any prior statements. "
However, the government has requested the judge review the unaired footage in chambers "to discern the relevance, if any, of that footage."
One of the men,who sought the doctor's help on a referral to manage arthritis in his shoulders, said he was at first "very confused" by Stockin's examination.
"Myself and Dr. Stockin were left alone in the room. He first checked my shoulders and then he asked me to stand up and to pull down my pants and lift up my gown," he said. "Dr. Stockin, he was face level with my groin, and he started touching my genitals."
The other, said he was sexually abused by Stockin on three occasions and described a similar experience of receiving what he called an "alternate assessment." He said he struggled to understand why this visit was unlike any he had previously encountered with a physician.
"Even with my wife I couldn't bring myself to talk through what happened," he said, "It just felt very uncomfortable."
In a statement to CBS News, Ryan Guilds, a civilian attorney who represents the men who were interviewed, said,"The Army has a trust problem with victims. And this doesn't help."
"The Government's willingness to subpoena confidential anonymous victim interactions with the press is just the latest example of a military justice system that treats victims with ambivalence and disrespect – placing the burden on victims not just to come forward but to fight for their own privacy and justice," Guilds said.
The government is "the only party with the authority to issue such subpoenas in courts-martial," according to a filing by Stockin's attorneys. In this case, the Army says that they served CBS News at the request of the defense, according to a court filing from CBS News.
The filing goes on to explain that Maj. Ryan Keeter from the prosecutor's office told attorneys for CBS News that neither the defense nor the prosecuting teams know the identities of the alleged victims who spoke with CBS News, and that the defense was seeking the information to possibly raise questions in cross-examination about any inconsistencies in their statements.
"If journalists are routinely compelled to violate their assurances of confidentiality in response to subpoenas, their ability to credibly provide sources with confidentiality — and, hence, acquire information that can only be acquired with such assurances — will be seriously undermined and important reporting, like that here, may never reach the public," Berry wrote.
