2010-06-25
A KTracy.com Reader Was Arrested Overseas: Pete Visclosky's Staff Got Answers
UPDATE: 14 years later, I shared that this was a reader trapped in a Russian prison for the criminally insane.
Okay, it's very odd that a Republican would write something nice about his Democratic Congressman during an election season, some might even say it's a political death wish. Perhaps it is, but Representative Pete Visclosky (D-IN1) and his staff really impressed me and they deserve some credit for it.
A couple of weeks ago, I received a very, VERY unusual comment from an individual claiming to be an American citizen wrongfully imprisoned in a foreign country. I was almost sure this was going to be a scam of some sort, but the seriousness of what was being said mixed with that "no man left behind" thing they beat in your head in the military caused me to contact Visclosky's office, asking for them to confirm what was going on and to make sure justice was done.
Despite protesting Visclosky a number of times and attacking him on this site and despite the overwhelming chance of it being fake, a staffer contacted me immediately on the phone asking for more information. Once provided, Visclosky got in touch with the US Consulate in the country where this person claimed to be. As it turned out, the person really was an American citizen being held in a foreign country!
I don't want to go into the details of this person's case because I'm not privy to all the information and especially because of the sensitivity of what's going on.
However, I want to thank Visclosky and his staff for taking something like this as seriously as it deserved to be treated, despite all of us having an overwhelming suspicion that it was a scam of some sort. Not only did they take it seriously, but they were very efficient and prompt in communicating with me and letting me know as soon as they got word back from the US Consulate.
I have many disagreements with Visclosky on domestic issues, but he and his staff do deserve some credit for understanding the seriousness of an American citizen (even though he wasn't a constituent) being held in a foreign country and acting on that so promptly.
