Letter to Hon. Lloyd J. Austin III, Secretary of Defense - Comer Requests Briefing on Charges Against Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller

Letter

Dear Secretary Austin:

We write to request information about the court martial of Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller Jr., a
Marine who spoke out against the Biden Administration's disastrous withdrawal from
Afghanistan. Because he criticized the Biden Administration and senior Department of Defense
leadership, the charges levied against the Lieutenant Colonel appear politically motivated.
Further, Lt. Col. Scheller is the only soldier or official within the entire Executive Branch who
has faced any consequences whatsoever related to how the Biden Administration withdrew from
Afghanistan. Not only is the lack accountability for the deadly consequences from the
Afghanistan pullout unacceptable, but we are also concerned the charges against Lt. Col.
Scheller are a very public attempt to silence potential future whistleblowers and preempt
criticism more broadly across the Department of Defense.

In the wake of a terrorist attack on U.S. forces and Afghan nationals that killed 13 service
members, Lt. Col. Scheller posted a public video on a social media website expressing criticism
of senior officials handling the withdrawal from Afghanistan and demanding they be held to
account. His superior officers subsequently relieved him of his command.

On Monday, September 27, 2021, Lt. Col. Scheller was then incarcerated and placed in
pretrial confinement at Camp Lejune, North Carolina. Although he has apparently not yet been
charged in a formal court martial, he stands accused of contempt toward officials, disobeying a
superior officer, failing to obey lawful orders, and conduct unbecoming of an officer.4 It appears
that these charges would also relate to his criticism of senior military officials for their actions in
connection with the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

In order to facilitate oversight over the military's decision to relieve Lt. Col. Scheller of
his command and incarcerate him in what appears to be a politically motivated investigation, we
request a Member-level briefing no later than October 7, 2021 on his incarceration, the
underlying investigation against him, and what, if anything, the Department of Defense is doing
to ensure that it is not unfairly or unlawfully retaliating against whistleblowers.

To make arrangements for the briefing or to ask any related follow-up questions, please
contact Committee on Oversight and Reform Republican Staff at (202) 225-5074. The
Committee on Oversight and Reform is the principal oversight committee of the U.S. House of
Representatives and has broad authority to investigate "any matter" at "any time" under House
Rule X. Thank you for your cooperation with this inquiry.

Sincerely,

Nancy Mace
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Civil Rights & Civil Liberties

James Comer
Ranking Member
Committee on Oversight & Reform

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