Protect Our Defenders News Blog

 

PR firm that represented disgraced general puts itself up for an award

The Washington Post reports:

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair found himself under the bright lights of the national media after he was charged by Army authorities with forcible sodomy, wrongful sexual conduct and other crimes in 2012. It came at a time when the Pentagon already was under scrutiny for its inability to stop sexual assault in the military, and marked the rarest of occasions: a senior officer facing criminal charges.

The Army prosecuted him for nearly two years, but dropped the most serious charges in March as part of a plea deal in which Sinclair admitted having an affair with his female accuser, a captain who worked directly for him during deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan. Awkward details about their volatile relationship spilled out publicly– she had called him “Poppa Panda Sexy Pants” before their relationship soured. Sinclair, a married father of two, avoided jail time, instead receiving a career-ending reprimand and a $20,000 fine.

Five months later, a public relations firm that assisted the general in the case is in contention for a prestigious award. MWW, of East Rutherford, N.J., nominated itself in the crisis management category in the Platinum PR Awards, an MWW official confirmed. Doing so highlights their work in a case that confounded some legal experts who believe Sinclair got off lightly.

Read more here.