House aims to trigger release of Pentagon misconduct reports

House lawmakers on Wednesday adopted legislation that would force the release of Defense Department Inspector General investigations on misconduct by senior military leaders.

{mosads}The amendment to the 2015 defense authorization bill, put forward by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), came in response to a series of embarrassing transgressions by top brass that were detailed earlier this year in the Washington Post, including an incident where an Army commander called Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) “smoking hot” in an email.

Speier said members of Congress should not learn about such episodes only by “reading the newspaper” because an official leaked details to a reporter.

The measure was part of a block of 19 amendments to the annual defense policy bill.