[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 82 (Wednesday, June 3, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H6130-H6131]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 ON SEAN GOLDMAN: JUSTICE DELAYED AGAIN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Peters). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, child abduction is a serious 
crime that no legitimate government or self-respecting judicial body 
anywhere on Earth should ever countenance, support or enable by either 
direct complicity or incompetence. But the denial of fundamental 
justice in the kidnapping of an American child is exactly what has 
happened, and is happening, in Brazil today.
  The tragic kidnapping case of Sean Goldman, pictured here with his 
dad, David, now in its almost fifth year,

[[Page H6131]]

raises serious and troubling questions concerning the Lula 
administration's commitment to honoring its clearly defined 
international obligations.
  Mr. Speaker, why has Brazilian President Lula's government so 
comprehensively failed to honor and respect international law, namely 
the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction, which it freely, and without reservation, signed and 
ratified, to expeditiously return a kidnapped child to the left-behind 
parent in the country of habitual residence?
  David Goldman's 9-year-old son, Sean, was abducted by his now-
deceased mother almost 5 years ago. For 5 long years, David, his dad, 
has sought relief in the Brazilian courts. And with the aid of an 
extraordinarily talented legal team and a group of dedicated loved ones 
at home, friends and neighbors, David Goldman has left no stone 
unturned in trying to get his son back. Because of the Lula 
Government's complicity and/or incompetence, however, David Goldman has 
been frustrated at every turn.
  Justice was delayed again, thus denied again, earlier today when a 
clear, unambiguous order to return Sean to his dad and to the United 
States was frustrated by yet another legal filing.
  At its core, Mr. Speaker, it is utterly outrageous that Lins e Silva, 
a well-connected lawyer, who is not Sean's father, continues to hold 
Sean. By abducting a boy that is not his son, Lins e Silva commits what 
is among the most cruel, unethical and brazen acts of continuing 
illegality imaginable. Even Brazilian court-appointed psychiatrists 
have said that with each passing day, Sean is being harmed by his 
continued abduction.
  This week, Mr. Speaker, all of us involved in the case were 
cautiously optimistic about a positive ruling by a Brazilian federal 
court judge ordering the abductor to turn Sean over at the U.S. 
Consulate in Rio De Janeiro at 2 p.m. today so that David could 
immediately bring his son back to the United States.
  Sadly, it didn't happen. A new appeal, filed by individuals 
associated with the abducting party, has resulted in the Brazilian 
Supreme Court suspending the federal court's order to return Sean. This 
filing apparently seeks to nullify Brazil's obligations under the Hague 
Convention treaty on child abduction, a delaying and obstructionist 
tactic that will further harm Sean and continue the extreme agony of 
his father. We have been told that perhaps the supreme court will 
decide the case by next week. Yeah, we'll see.
  I would note parenthetically that if a political party in Brazil, and 
they are the ones who brought the case, wants to challenge Brazil's 
accession to the Hague Convention, or any part of it, it should do so 
without taking Sean Goldman hostage.
  Enough is enough, Mr. Speaker. It is long past time to bring Sean 
Goldman home. The Brazilian Government must more fully understand that 
these reckless legal maneuverings which have no finality or compassion 
or justice and bring dishonor on the Brazilian Government. How long 
will President Lula allow this disgraceful charade to continue?
  Let me be clear on this, Mr. Speaker. Our argument isn't with the 
Brazilian people, for whom I have deep affection and admiration, as do 
my colleagues in this Chamber. Many Brazilians have supported David 
Goldman's quest for justice against two wealthy and politically 
powerful families that brazenly abuse their connections and exercise 
grossly undue influence over certain parts of the Brazilian judiciary.
  The Lula Government has failed to honor its commitments under 
international law. And because of that, a son has been deprived of his 
father, and a father has been deprived of his son.
  That is unconscionable.

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