Nick Lampson: “on June 29 and July 6 two articles appeared in the Washington Post about Joseph Cooke and his fight to regain custody of…”

“on June 29 and July 6 two articles appeared in the Washington Post about Joseph Cooke and his fight to regain custody of his two children. Both articles, in error, stated that Joseph Cooke, whose children have been held in German foster care for over 8 years, was recently allowed a 2-hour visit. Unfortunately, Joseph did not get to see his children. However, his mother, Patricia, did get to see her grandchildren, but did so at a drastically limited time. For 8 years this family struggled silently, attempting to bring about justice on their own. In February, Joseph joined me at an event where for the first time he spoke publicly about the abduction and wrongful retention of his children. It was a difficult day, but one that led to the outpouring of support and attention from the media and the American public that this issue deserves. The retaliation by the German Youth Authority and the Weh family, and their attempts to control the behavior of wronged American parents, is exactly why we need to continue pressing for action on this issue. We cannot let American parents be bullied into keeping their mouths shut. The German Youth Authority should be ashamed of itself for using access to one's children as a means to avoid bad press.”