The August 8, 2013 episode of the Daily Show focuses on more issues with American banking, sexual assault in the military, and politics with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.
The episode begins with John Oliver discussing the legal cases bringing brought against banks, such as Bank of America, JPMorganChase, and Goldman Sachs. Oliver is extremely excited that the bankers will finally have to answer for what their actions. These banks are mostly being accused of knowing how risky their actions were and lying about those risks. Oliver is very disappointed to learn, though, that no one will be going to jail. These are civil suits, so imprisonment is not a risk. All of the banks Oliver mentions have settled the cases without admitting any wrongdoing. Goldman Sachs, for example, had to pay half a million dollars, which is only three days of revenue. Oliver argues that the only lessons banks are learning is that they can do what they want and face barely any punishment.
The second segment is about the prevalence of sexual assault in the military and what is being done about it. 26,000 sexual assaults were reported in the military last year. President Barack Obama has said that those individuals guilty of sexual assault should be fired, dishonorably discharged, and court martialed. A military judge, though, has said that Obama’s statement was command influence, and was causing problems. Congress has begun taking actions to combat this problem by calling in military leaders, only one woman, to discuss the problem. Oliver brings in junior Senator Kristen Gillibrand (D – New York) to discuss the issue. Gillibrand is putting forward a bill that would take the prosecution of sexual assaults out of the chain of command. Part of the problem now is that the victim has to report the assault to his/her commander, and the commander often knows the accused. This method of reporting is one reason why so few of the assaults ever see charges pressed. As with many other changes to the military, such as women servicing or the removal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the military sometimes argues that it would disrupt order and discipline. Gillibrand argues that the massive amount of sexual assaults is a disruption of order and discipline, and the military leaders are not doing their jobs.
The third segment continues the interview with Gillibrand. Oliver returns to the first topic of the show, and asks her about the banks and what is being done. This topic is especially relevant to Gillibrand, because she was a securities lawyer and her top two contributors are banks. Gillibrand argues for removing money almost entirely from politics, and at least making the donations 100% transparent. People do not trust the government, she says, and fixing campaign rules will help. She also says that regulations on the banks need to increased, as well. A lot of what was put in place after the last big problem has not been active yet.