FOX "Interview With Representative Chris Smith" - Child Custody Case - Transcript

Interview

Fox News Channel Interview With Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) - Child Custody Case

Interviewers: Jon Scott

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MR. SCOTT: An update now into the heartbreaking case of a nine- year-old American boy at the center of a custody battle in Brazil. Brazil's highest court is now ruling that sending Sean Goldman back to be with his United States father might violate the nation's constitution. That judgment effectively reverses a lower court. It ruled that David Goldman should be allowed to take his son, Sean, home to New Jersey.

Sean has been trapped in Brazil since 2004. His Brazilian mother took him there on vacation, divorced Sean's dad and then refused to bring the boy back home. She later remarried a Brazilian man and died in childbirth. Her second husband refuses to return Sean to his real father.

Now, New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith says enough is enough. He's threatening to try to suspend a multibillion-dollar U.S. trade deal with Brazil to get Sean back. He joins us now from Washington to discuss what's become an escalating international battle.

Congressman Smith, good day to you, sir.

REP. SMITH: Good day to you, Jon.

MR. SCOTT: This trade deal, it's worth about, what, $2.7 billion to Brazil?

REP. SMITH: Yes, it is, and it's their products that are being exported to the United States. They get favorable trade benefits and this would suspend that because of this egregious case of kidnapping that the Lula government continues to enable and to either wittingly or unwittingly, maybe it's through just the lack of concern or focus, but they have become complicit in a five-year kidnapping of an American boy.

A man who is not the father has custody of a New Jersey man, David Goldman, wonderful man, who is being deprived of his own son. It's outrageous.

MR. SCOTT: Yeah. We're looking at pictures of David and little Sean. These were taken back before, obviously, Sean was spirited away to Brazil.

Obviously, you can't do this yourself. You need the Congress and maybe even the president to go along with you. What kind of support are you getting?

REP. SMITH: Well, we're going to build support for it. Earlier -- just a couple of months ago, I offered a resolution that passed in the House of Representatives overwhelmingly, admonishing the government of Brazil to bring Sean home. The Senate in a like manner passed a resolution as well.

So the Congress has clearly enunciated its concern, its will, its empathy with this left behind parent, David Goldman, and others who are also in this situation. Child kidnapping is a serious international problem.

So we've gone on record and now we have hearings scheduled for September on Brazil and the Western Hemisphere with a focus on David Goldman, hopefully, it's resolved by then, but there are other cases as well. But I think we need to take it to next level. There needs to be a penalty for a government that through its own complicity, perhaps they just can't get it together, but I don't believe that. President Lula needs to step up to the plate. His government has signed The Hague Convention on the civil aspects of international child abduction. They have been found by the U.S. Department of State to have engaged in patterns of non-compliance and that's just coming out, again, within the next couple of days. Non-compliance means there needs to be a penalty.

Bottom line, we want Sean home. That's all we're asking for and they could do it.

MR. SCOTT: But as you know, the Lula government can say, hey, look, this is a Supreme Court ruling, you know. We are the administrative branch. Our hands are tied. We're just following the will of the Supreme Court. What do you say to that?

REP. SMITH: They have what's called the central authority. It's a government entity. All the governments have it that have signed The Hague Convention, whose purpose it is to bring to fruition expedited removal of a child that has been kidnapped back to the country of origin. They have failed for five years to do so and that government authority called the Central Authority by our U.S. Department of State has been found to have engaged in patterns of non-compliance.

So we've seen a breakdown. The judiciary as well has failed. Our hope is maybe next week the Supreme Court will finally get it and send back to his father, his only father. He only has one father.

MR. SCOTT: Right.

REP. SMITH: And that is David Goldman.

MR. SCOTT: Republican Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey. We wish you well as you try to lean on them --

REP. SMITH: Thank you very much.

MR. SCOTT: It would be nice to get that little kid back here. Thanks.

REP. SMITH: Sure would be. Thank you.

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