There was only one comment on the Proposed Amendments to the Manual for Courts-Martial posted to the Federal register as notice and open for comment before POTUS signed EO.

The entirety of any materials examined by the military judge shall be ~~sealed and~~ attached to the record of trial as an appellate exhibit

The names are just too big. The in-camera evidence viewed by the judge is no longer required to be sealed. It will be made public.

Everyone will know.

Public Comment:

As an attorney that regularly represents non-parties to courts-martial who often have limited standing to be heard on certain issues, I do not believe that the proposed amendment to R.C.M. 1103A(b) does enough to protect the rights of non-parties whose records may have been sealed in accordance with various privileges, most notably M.R.E.s 513 and 514.

The JSC-proposed amendment to R.C.M. 1103A permits disclosure of sealed materials upon a showing of "good cause" (see proposed paragraphs (b)(2) and (b)(3)). The JSC-proposed amendment to R.C.M. 1103A, with respect to sealed materials reviewed in camera but not release to trial counsel or defense counsel, also permits a reviewing or appellate authority to permit examination of the sealed materials by appellate counsel "for good cause" (see proposed paragraph (b)(4)(B)(ii)).

This "good cause" standard for examination/disclosure is arguably much lower (and certainly much more ambiguous) than the standards required for the production/disclosure of records under M.R.E. 513 and M.R.E. 514 as currently written, which require the party seeking access to the records to: (1) specifically describe the evidence and state the purpose for which it is sought, (2) show that there is a specific factual basis that demonstrates a reasonable likelihood that the records would yield evidence admissible under an exception to the privilege, (3) show that the requested information meets an enumerated exception, (4) show that the evidence is not cumulative, (5) show that the party made reasonable efforts to obtain the same or substantially similar information through non-privileged sources, and (6) provide advance written notice of the request to the opposing party and privilege-holder so that they may have the opportunity to be heard prior to the records being produced/disclosed.

The standard for the examination/disclosure of records following their initial sealing should not be lower than the initial standard for production/disclosure. Reviewing/appellate authorities should not be authorized to disclose or permit examination of sealed materials merely because an ambiguous "good cause" standard has been met. There should be a requirement that the requester seeking access to the sealed records should, where applicable, have to file a written motion that meets all of the procedural requirements of M.R.E. 513 or M.R.E. 514 and there should be a requirement that the privilege-holder be provided with notice and an opportunity to be heard prior to the examination or disclosure of their records.

M.R.E.s 513 and 514 provide important due process protections to victims that do not lose their importance in the post-trial process. The proposed amendment to R.C.M. 1103A fails to recognize that a violation of a victim's privilege is of consequence to the victim, even if that violation happens after a record is initially sealed. In fact, it can often be extremely devastating for a victim who is under the impression that his records have been sealed from release to find out that the seal was subsequently lifted with respect to people he has never heard of without affording him any chance to object. He can feel duped by the system that led him to believe that his records would be protected from further viewing.

Sauce: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=DOD-2016-OS-0113-0002

Manual for Courts-Martial; Proposed Amendments

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/11/29/2016-28630/manual-for-courts-martial-proposed-amendments

EO w/Annexes

https://regulations.justia.com/regulations/fedreg/2018/03/08/2018-04860.html

EO from WH.gov

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2018-amendments-manual-courts-martial-united-states/