Carolee Walker to Frank Wolf, November, 2008

There are several important items to note in this letter, listed below. A link to the letter is included at the bottom of the page.

• Ms Walker acknowledges previous attempts by congressmen Robert Andrews and Steny Hoyer to stir the State Department to investigate, by stating Scott's "questions" regarding consular access have been the subject of several Congressional inquiries since 2005. She does not, however, say that the State Department has done anything concerning these inquiries, other than accept a false document as evidence that Scott had waived his Vienna Convention rights.
• Walker complains that Scott did not make any "documented" attempts to contact the U.S. Consulate General or the Embassy in Ottawa. Certainly, this was impossible while secluded and tortured in the dank bottom of Whitby Jail. Afterward, when Scott knew his outgoing mail was compromised and he was being denied his right to access, he feared that trying to send a letter to the U.S. Consulate would, most likely, only have caused him more problems, and would never have reached its intended destination.
• Walker says the State Department has had "extensive contact with local Canadian authorities", and again refers to the 2003 deportation admissibility hearing document, unsigned by Scott, as a waiver of his international treaty rights. "We have continued, however, to request clarification from the Canadian government on the matter prior to 2003." There has been no attempt on the part of the State Department to notify Scott's lawyer, C. Scott Shields of any requests for clarification on the matter, period. An international treaty has been violated and this is all she has to say?
• "Canada has a transparent, open judicial system", Walker states. Scott was not informed of the closed-door custody hearing for Eddy. Pages were deleted from the record, and the remaining documents were sealed. This is hardly a "transparent, open judicial system".
• In the same paragraph, Walker states U.S. Consular officers have found no evidence that Carolyn and Eddy disappeared during his incarceration and then states that they are in a witness protection program.
• She concludes by saying that U.S. Consular officers are not authorized to investigate allegations of criminal misconduct of local law enforcement authorities. This is a grand finale of a letter lined with evasive side-stepping of the issues at hand. Those issues are that Scott Loper was denied his Vienna Convention rights, and the State Department has a responsibility for the safety of Eddy. Due to the denial of Scott's rights, he suffered extreme abuse at the hands of local police and lost everything that meant anything to him, including a relationship with his son. The government of Canada is responsible, by common sense and international agreement, for allowing this to happen. It is the responsibility of the U.S. State Department to hold Canada accountable for violations against both Scott and his son.