The official said the president had not realized they would oversee every step of the investigative and judicial process, but thought of them as investigative entities that would hand their findings to existing agencies for prosecution.
Brian Lewis, the first male survivor of military sexual abuse to testify before Congress, told lawmakers that sexual assault and rape was an "epidemic" in the military which remained untackled because of the existing reporting and prosecution system.
Head teachers should also face existing sanctions of prosecution if they illegally exclude children, she says.
In a new report, Maggie Atkinson says schools should be heavily fined if they falsify registers to cover up such exclusions and head teachers should face existing sanctions of prosecution.
But the new administration has not made clear whether it will restrict prosecutions to existing American courts or, perhaps, use the military commissions for some cases.
The measure also recognizes the Catholic Church's history of intimidating victims and burying abuses in church files, creating a shroud of secrecy that extended in many cases until victims were in their 30s or older, well beyond existing time limits for prosecutions or civil lawsuits.
In the United States local, state, and federal enforcement agencies handle investigation and prosecution under existing fraud laws.
Representatives of the natural products industry, meanwhile, recommended tougher enforcement of existing laws and full prosecution of suspected violators.
Malaysia was unimpressed by a note from the UN's secretary-general, Kofi Annan, affirming Mr Cumaraswamy's role and his immunity from prosecution under existing conventions.
White House aides believe Mr. Obama can also ratchet up enforcement of existing laws, including tougher prosecution of people who lie on their background checks.
