Retired Admiral Scolds Murray -- But Senator Isn't Buying In Dispute Over Harassment

WASHINGTON - Navy Adm. Henry Mauz Jr. could do no more than grit his teeth six weeks ago when Washington state's Democratic senator, Patty Murray, tried to block his retirement at a four-star rank because of what she said were unanswered questions about his handling of a sexual-harassment case.

But Tuesday - one day into his new life as a private citizen and safely out of the Senate's reach - Mauz saw no need to hold his tongue.

"You showed little interest in the truth" during the contentious battle over his retirement, Mauz scolded Murray in a letter he wrote Tuesday and released yesterday.

"You gave great and public credence to allegations and little to the facts," continued the admiral, who was commander of the Atlantic fleet. He lectured Murray, "You caused great anguish for my family and upset plans both for myself and my (successor)," and advised her to "improve your own accountability rating."

Murray wasn't impressed. "Admiral Mauz's letter reflects my experience that when I raise questions related to sexual harassment and whistle-blowing, in response, I don't get answers, I get personal attacks," Murray said in a statement issued yesterday.

While Mauz's public score-settling with a senator was extraordinary, the complaints he offered were hardly unique. Since the Tailhook incident and other scandals, the Senate is more sensitive to allegations regarding all kinds of misconduct by military leaders.

Many active-duty Pentagon officials complain privately that vigilance has blurred into vigilantism, in which individual senators can indefinitely hold up promotions and retirements for reasons that sometimes have little to do with actions taken by the nominees.

Earlier this year, the nomination of Air Force Undersecretary Rudy DeLeon was placed on hold temporarily because Sen. Wendell Ford, D-Ky., was upset about a plan to move Air Force cargo planes out of his state.

In Mauz's case, after a 92-6 vote, the admiral eventually retired at the four-star rank that offers comparatively more-lucrative pension and other benefits. His was the third such high-profile case involving Navy admirals. In February, former Chief of Naval Operations Frank Kelso, who was accused of turning a blind eye to misconduct during the Tailhook incident, agreed to leave office early in exchange for retiring at the four-star rank.

This summer, Adm. Stanley Arthur, the vice chief of naval operations, was forced to withdraw from consideration as head of the Pacific Command after complaints he had not properly followed up on allegations that a women lieutenant was thrown out of pilot training because she had complained about sexual harassment.

Mauz's retirement became controversial when a group called the Government Accountability Project alleged Mauz had not sufficiently pursued allegations that Navy Lt. Darlene Simmons suffered reprisals after she lodged a successful sexual-harassment complaint. Also, the group charged, Mauz tried to punish Senior Chief Master-at-Arms George Taylor because he publicly complained that Mauz and his staff had improperly taken a trip to Bermuda at government expense.

The Senate Armed Serice Committee voted unanimously that Mauz be given full retirement, and its chairman, Sam Nunn, D-Ga., said on the Senate floor that "Mauz should be commended, not condemned, for the personal responsibility that he exercised with respect to the allegations of sexual harassment made by Lieutenant Simmons."

But the controversy didn't end. Murray complained on the floor that in trying to get answers to questions about Mauz, "the Navy has at times been extremely confusing and downright inaccurate."

"If I as a senator have had a tough time getting adequate responses from the Navy - and I have direct access to the highest level of leadership there - I can only imagine the difficulty" that Simmons and Taylor had, Murray said.

In his letter, Mauz said that complaint was bogus. "All the information you or any other senator needed was available in the Armed Services Committee," Mauz wrote.