A commander who alters a sworn statement before submitting it for prosecution has committed a very serious criminal offense and has fatally compromised the integrity of the legal process. This act can be charged under several articles of the UCMJ, including Article 107 (False Official Statement), as they are now submitting a document they know to be false. More seriously, it constitutes obstruction of justice under Article 131b, as it is a direct and corrupt attempt to influence the outcome of a legal proceeding. It could also be considered conduct unbecoming an officer under Article 133.
If a military defense attorney discovers that a witness statement was altered by a commander, they will take immediate and aggressive action. They will first obtain an affidavit from the original witness, attesting to the true contents of their original statement and the fact that it was altered. The attorney will then file a motion to dismiss the charges against their client due to this egregious prosecutorial and command misconduct. They will argue that the government’s case has been built on a foundation of fraud and that a fair trial is now impossible.
The legal consequences for the commander are severe. The defense attorney will report the commander’s actions to the Inspector General and to the next higher level of command, which will almost certainly trigger a criminal investigation into the commander themselves. A finding of such misconduct would not only lead to the dismissal of the original case against the service member but would also likely end the commander’s military career and could result in their own court-martial and confinement.