Bachus Press Conference Dec 16, 2005 TRANSCRIPT

[Heli]

Rep Spencer Bachus Press Conference
December 16, 2005

Transcribed July 12, 2006
From Videotape on http://www.nbc13.com/news/5557280/detail.html
VERBATIM AND COMPLETE


Bachus:

" .... I was trying to analyze what had gone on in Aruba in the investigation. (inaudible) Owens is the District Attorney in the County to the South He and I have prosecuted cases together, when I was in private practice, when I was with the Attorney General's Office and also when I went into private practice and he and I tried several cases where he was the DA and I was the defense attorney. He later became District Attorney of Shelby County and I think (inaudible) has a population of what about 200,000 or 175,000

Most of these gentlemen have tried numerous murder cases, prosecuted and investigated numerous murder cases, disappearance cases, kidnapping cases some of which have been actually publicized in national publications.

At my request, and let me go back and tell you my involvement in the Natalee Holloway case The day that Natalee or the day or the day after Natalee missed her flight, the Holloway family contacted me as their congressman and asked if I would help them in the search for Natalee. I immediately asked if the FBI was involved and I don't remember at this late date whether they asked me to talk to the FBI or whether I suggested the FBI to them, but I did call our american representative in Aruba and talked personally with him. I found out that the procedure would be for the aruban government to request the help of the FBI. I immediately placed that call, talked to two members of the aruban government and within probably six (6) hours, and I think there have been varying reports in the news media, but within six (6) hours there was a formal request from the aruban government to involve, at least within six (6) hours I had information and confirmation that the aruban government had requested the participation of the FBI. That was reported in the Birmingham News and (inaudible)

I have avoided appearing on tv shows, I have had several requests, several of y'all in this room have called me, my primary reason is, I am not a spokesman for the Holloway family, they are my constituents. I think they have done an admirable job speaking for themselves and representing the Holloway case and their daughter. We all know about their efforts and I've not tried to substitute for them.

As we approach Christmas, one thing I think about this case is it's got to be a time of tremendous hardship for the family because Natalee won't be there for Christmas and I can't imagine, I've never lost a child but I think we all know, particularly as you grow older, you really begin, if you have children, I think your greatest fear in life is losing your child and that fear for the Holloway family came true. So I salute them and I also salute the news media for the focus on this case .

I, in listening to the news media and talking with the family, and talking to the (inaudible) I have actually since this case started and about on a monthly basis, I have called and talked to the Prime Minister, I have talked to the police investigators, I have talked to Mr. Richardson, I've talked to Dompig. I've not gone on tv or in the press and shared the details of those conversations because I felt like if I did that, I would be neutralized as a party that could talk with them without fear of then turning around and talking to the press although I'm not condemning or commending those people who did it. That was just the role I have chosen to take.

I am as frustrated as I think all americans are (tape break) where she is and what's happened to her (tape break) approximately a month and half (tape break)

There have been people who have said Is this effort by the arubans simply an effort to mitigate the boycott or the bad publicity. I can't answer that, other than to say that they did not suggest this to me. This was my suggestion to them, that I would like them to come to the United States and meet with both State and Federal officials . I've also heard from time to time that the FBI is involved, they're in Aruba. On one or two occasions I had confirmation that six (6) agents were on the ground in Aruba. I've heard from time to time that the Arubans and the FBI were co-operating, weren't co-operating. I mainly heard that on tv. The FBI policy is mainly not to comment to me in an official nature, but I have asked them if the arubans are not co-operating with you, if they're (inaudible) you ethically, please let me know and they have never adivsed me of a lack of co-operation. I've seen those on the news media and I've simply not the person to say that those reports are or are not true .

What will be taking place today, in fact as we meet is, there were two things in my discussion with the arubans which I asked them and they asked me. I asked them to come to Washington to meet with State and Federal officials. They in fact told me that they had two (2) requests of me. One (1) was that I try to facilitate greater co-operation between them and the State Department and the FBI in that they had made requests of the State Department and the FBI in connection with interviewing witnesses here in this country.

I was actually disappointed that there had been delays in facilitating interviews that they had requested and as we speak today the aruban delegation is meeting with very high level officials at the FBI . They're meeting with Chris Gregorski who is the Acting Chief of the Violent Crime Section . They're also meeting with Chip Burris the Deputy Assistanat Director of the Criminal Investigation Division. So those are two officials, and there'll be others in those meetings, but those are two top officials at the FBI and I felt it necessary for the FBI and the arubans to sit down face to face and communicate and I am hopeful that if there's progress to be made in the case and progress might depend even marginally on co-operation between those two agencies, that that will happen.

I'm not going to make any statement about that meeting other than that. I think the FBI or the aruban government at the conclusion of those meetings can tell you more about their agenda, what their discussions will be. As I said, my concern was to (inaudible) a heightened communication between the two agencies.

Specifically with respect to some press inquiries, let me tell you the two people that we met with today that I felt were key to us getting an understanding of where the case was today and I say that and I'll tell you that the two gentlemen behind me and the federal agencies have all stressed one thing to me and I wrote it down when it was said to me four or five times by federal agents, by gentlemen behind me and that's "disclosure of confidential information would compromise the investigation"

So I for one am not at liberty in this press conference. I have no desire to compromise the investigation so I will not be disclosing confidential information at this press conference today. I will say that I believe, and I know that in this case there was information that was disclosed, it was disclosed in the midst of certain types of surveillance which I think has impeded the investigation and I don't think it was done wilfully, I think they were done, the purposes were to inform the public but I think, my strong impression I have from this case, and this is not something confidential that was shared with me, but I can tell you from the information that was shared with me, there are times when there's an investigation going on and they're beginning to focus on this or that it does not get to the public domain, it can have a chilling effect.

I wanted to go over, the two people we met with, there was a large delegation but primarily there were two folks that we met with and I talked to one of them previous to today. Also Chief Dompig who I have talked to at least three (3) times in the past two (2) months, probably talked to a total of five (5) times during this investigation, whose aware when he was on the case, when he was off the case, but another gentleman that came today and it was my specific request that he come Dolph Richardson and that was at my request because I had talked to him on two or three occasions and Dolph Richardson is the senior aruban police official in the investigation and he was the chief investigator in the first critical months after Natalee's disappearance.

He actually is in charge of a special task force on more complex cases and he directed much of that early investigation. In this case, it's been hampered somewhat by a language barrier. Certain things are said from time to time and the Dutch may mean something and the americans, we sort of take it a different way. I've had trouble with my communication on occasion with that and I think it's on occasion hampered american understanding of this case.

I'm going to try to pronounce this name, I think it's Renalto Em... I'm going to give a stab at it Eer .. What he He's the police analyst who's responsible for the maintenance and the organization and analyzing the evidence. He's what we might sometime call the police custodian, that is part of his function. But in Aruba he actually plays the role of what three (3) different officials would here in the United States.

He has organized extensive timelines, he's organized every piece of evidence, every piece is categorized and numbered and he is in charge of that. And as I said, we've met for well over two (2) hours this morning with these two gentlemen. We also met with an attorney who works with the Board of Tourism as her main job. She came because she is a lawyer. She has training in both the English Law and the Dutch Law and she was actually very valuable in that she spent 30 to 45 minutes with us explaining why under their system of government you might not, could do what we do here in certain cases. They have a different plea bargain arrangement. Probably of most surprise to me was what I learned today, in the United States often we charge people with lying in their statements, of not telling the truth in their statements. There have been conflicting statements, and I think we all know the result of people lying in their statements. To my surprise and I think to both y'all's surprise we found out that in Aruba under Dutch Law, it's okay for a suspect to lie in giving his statement, so it's ok for them to give a false statement and that's actually not a criminal charge.

I think if it were, you'd have people charged today. The aruban delegation did tell us, this is not facts about the investigation but they did tell us that 40% of the annual budget government expenditures have gone into this case which I think is an astounding number. I have no way to confirm that, I think you as a news media could either confirm or verify the truth of that but I have no reason to believe that that's not correct. It is a small island; things that could aid the investigation and also hamper the investigation, people know each other, they know people, they know people's families and obviously I think that several of our nightly news tv shows have shown that that can be a problem, it can be a hindrance and they're absolutely true.

I will say this, I for one will sit back and take a deep breath. I told them I wanted them to come up here and tell me the facts. I also wanted to know, I guess the last thing I'll say about the facts, I'd heard they were shutting down the investigation, they were bringing it to a conclusion. They told me they have fourteen (14) full time investigators on the case. I know a month ago I was told by the Deputy Police Chief Dompig and Adolpho Richardson in a phone conversation, that they were bringing in again (tape break) ....

We did have (tape break) and their efforts and intentions (tape break) I will characterize and they will be better in telling you I think but it's not to shut this case down, to continue to pursue it vigourously. They do not consider it a close case, nor do they consider that they have a dead end . They will continue to develop information and pursue leads. I'll simply close by saying that our thoughts and prayers remain with Natalee and the Holloway family and I do as an Alabamian and as a congressman for Natalee and the Holloway family, I do want to commend the news media for your focus on this case. As we see in this case and other cases, the news media in Alabama and throughout the nation breaks cases from time to time because you have a tremendous outreach and you can be a tremendous tool for solving cases whether they come to happy ending or turn out badly. In Alabama actually, with our tornadoes, there's not a significant tornado that we have in Alabama when I don't have constituents when I tour the storm damaged area, which tell me that because of tv coverage they're alive today and I'm not sure anybody's done a study on that, but I would say, and I've had a district where, and Mary's here from the Birmingham News, we've had two of the deadliest tornadoes in america. We've lost 25 people


Question from the floor (inaudible)

Bachus:

Without disclosing anything, as you know Greta, the first week or two of this investigation there were several suspects, you know went off this direction, went off that direction and for what seemed to be all the right reasons and on thing that, I think that all needs to go back into, but I think that they do have, I do think that, obviously she is, she didn't fly back on that plane and something happened to her and it was of a criminal nature.

Usually, you continue to pick and pick as you know, the cases you continue to pick at them and work on them and go back over them, go back over the suspects, continue to pursue various scenarios and sometimes you're successful and sometimes you're not

Greta:

.... Do you have a sense that they're going in the right direction, that they're doing everything they can and you have a commitment ...

Bachus:

I wouldn't know, they've devoted tremendous resources to the case, 40% of the, and I believe you'll find that's an accurrate figure, that they devoted 40% of their resources, this small island to solving this crime and I for one, can't believe, I'm not a conspiracist, but I can't believe that a country spends 40% of their budget on a case if they didn't want to solve it.

Question from the floor:

" ..... they're not doing all they can to solve the case ...

Bachus:

You know, I shared that with Miss Holloway, and that was probably as much frustration as anything and I will say that I do feel better about the investigation after meeting with them. Mr. Richardson for instance, has been trained in England, they have 1.3 murders a year on an island of 100,000 people so were they tremendously experienced to handle one of these cases. You have to have a certain amount of experience, as a result, Russell who has investigated several hundred murder cases, David who has tried how many murder cases... we're talking about an island that averages 1 murder a year.

From the floor:

"..... going in the right direction?

Bachus:

I'm convinced they've brought in tremendous resources and resources have been offered to them. Even with them spending 40% of the time because of the news media, the search of that island I would say is unprecedented. They've had F-16's, Dutch F-16's come in and fly over the island that can located, they were used in Bosnia

Question from the floor (inaudible)

Bachus:

I'm restrained to some extent to comment on what the evidence I heard today, in fact I'm not .. (inaudible)

Greta:

inaudible

Bachus:

If you're asking me, are you more certain that this case will be solved than you were before you met with them, I will say that I think that the people I've met with, they are professional, they have devoted a tremendous amount of resources to the case but I think they're up against a pretty sophisticated group, who you know, if somebody gets a warning that the police are going to sit them down in 24 or 48 hours and talk to them, lots can happen in 24 or 48 hours

Greta:

"... they have 1.3 murders a year (inaudible) no matter how many resources, if you don't have the wherewithall... the experience ... (inaudible)

Bachus:

I think these gentlemen would be better at answering that question. I think the obvious answer is that they don't have a lot of experience with these cases because they average 1.3 murders a year so how could they get experience.

Their meeting with the FBI, that's one agency that's tremendously experienced, the FBI, they've had a number of agents in the field and I think how involved they are, how involved they want to be, I don't know.

Question from the floor (inaudible)

Bachus:

They had brought in Dutch investigators that have investigated several cases, but there's a problem with Alabama in that there's a language barrier, don't forget that.

From the floor (inaudible)

Bachus:

I wanted to get the facts, I wanted to ask them, and we did that, we asked them at least, I think we had a list of, going in I had a list of twenty-five (25) questions where I heard this, I heard that. I asked about this piece of evidence, I asked about this story, I asked we were told this and they answered every one of them. How much of that was, you know they appeared to be forthright but I would say some of y'all who have talk shows have more experience than I do in determining how

From the floor (inaudible)

Bachus:

They did ask me for two things, one of the things that they've consistently asked for is there are people they want to talk to in the United States and apparently over three (3) months ago they through State Department channels they requested that. I know there are people in my district who've said I don't want them coming up here and talking to my son or my daughter but in a criminal investigation where there's a missing young lady you talk to the people who were around her in the last few hours.

Greta:

""... (inaudible) you'd think they'd bend over backwards to provide information ...

Bachus:

These two gentlemen, David and Robbie, and they're (inaudible) you know when people get involved in a case if it doesn't have a successful resolution everybody gets the blame and I think they stepped up, they took considerable risk themselves when they actually said this morning "if we can be of assistance we would be glad to"

Greta:

"....(inaudible) if Aruba wants to talk to them ... (inaudible) talk to the aruban authorities ..

Bachus:

As you know, I think we all know it's been confirmed, there's no dispute they got in a car with three young men but there may be something either before or after that was said that could be of value. They want to do that and I think they have a right to do that

From the floor:

(Inaudible) DO you have a message today to your constituents in Mountain Brook, especially to the families of those kids that went on that trip

Bachus:

That I'm doing, at least the things that I've been asked to be helpful with . I think it's unprecedented for a country to send a delegation here, including two people who are working intimately on the case to answer questions. If this case had happened in France, I don't think we would be having a french delegation come over.

I'm not going to criticize, I'm not going to condemn, but I'm not going to commend the aruban authorities, that's just I have asked them to do basically two or three things. I asked them first of all just within probably forty-eight (48) hours of the disappearance to agree to let the FBI come in and they at least filed the paperwork necessary to do that and I've heard the stories about

Greta:

Were they asked to come in and observe or did the FBI take an active role in the investigation.

Bachus:

You know, that's a question I'd like answered too and I have not gotten a satisfactory answer out of the two, well I don't know. I think that's a great question to ask, I'd like to know and I think the FBI may tell you they don't discuss those things.

From the floor (inaudible)

No, there weren't Mary, because wouldn't be able to discuss, in fact they made it clear, there were things that David said "don't show us" because

Unidentified man standing behind Rep Bachus:

There were things about their system today, that we are not accustomed to

Bachus:

and actually in preparation to

Unidentified man:

there were barriers to them sharing certain things that could actually jeopardize any potential prosecution and so (inaudible) we just said you know "we don't want to hear it"

From the floor:

(inaudible)

Bachus:

I told them, I assured them that everybody in that room would, the things that they said were confidential and which others had said were confidential, they wouldn't be shared. I'm not a substitute for the family, what I did do, the family on Monday informed me that Mr. Philips would like to meet with the, they actually said Dompig and I asked the arubans , I asked them to do that if at all possible, and I was under the understanding

Greta:

Wasn't it Mr. Kelly

Bachus:

He's from New York. Yes, pardon me Mr. Kelly, right. It's my understanding he went down and sat with them for about an hour or so

Greta:

(inaudible)

Bachus:

Actually I talked to Mr. Holloway back in Mississippi, with Beth and I told them that when they came, and I told them to come, that it would be between me and LE officers; the FBI was certainly not willing to have them.

Greta:

Was the FBI at that meeting?

Bachus:

The FBI was not at our meeting

Greta:

You hesitate

Bachus:

I did

Greta:

Is there something behind that, am I missing something?

Bachus:

Yeah. (Laughs) Okay thank you

End of Press Conference

[ViVi]

For she's a jolly good fellow!

Thanks Heli. That was LOT of work!

[Heli]

For she's a jolly good fellow!

Thanks Heli. That was LOT of work!

Indeed, approximately 3 hrs I thought they were never going to shut up.

If I'd had proper transcription equipment, cut that time at least in half.

Hope it makes the debate easier for all.

[prolific]

Thanks, Heli!!

Well it does make it perfectly clear, I really don't know how there can be any argument about what he said and what he meant.

I'm sure that won't stop the arguing tho.

[Heli]

It was painfully obvious that Rep Bachus was being exceedingly careful, measuring every word.

The portion that piqued my curiosity most, was his total shutdown when asked about the FBI's participation in the meeting with the arubans and the state and federal officials.

I could only speculate as to the reason the FBI was not present.
Not invited by Bachus; not wanted present by arubans; invited but declined;

Bachus certainly clammed up and gave some interesting non verbal cues that it was a sensitive matter.

[prolific]

It was painfully obvious that Rep Bachus was being exceedingly careful, measuring every word.

The portion that piqued my curiosity most, was his total shutdown when asked about the FBI's participation in the meeting with the arubans and the state and federal officials.

I could only speculate as to the reason the FBI was not present.
Not invited by Bachus; not wanted present by arubans; invited but declined;

Bachus certainly clammed up and gave some interesting non verbal cues that it was a sensitive matter.

Wasn't there a separate meeting with the FBI?

[MoonShadows]

Heli!!!!

[ViVi]

It was painfully obvious that Rep Bachus was being exceedingly careful, measuring every word.

The portion that piqued my curiosity most, was his total shutdown when asked about the FBI's participation in the meeting with the arubans and the state and federal officials.

I could only speculate as to the reason the FBI was not present.
Not invited by Bachus; not wanted present by arubans; invited but declined;

Bachus certainly clammed up and gave some interesting non verbal cues that it was a sensitive matter.

Wasn't there a separate meeting with the FBI?

Yes, with the Chief of the Violent Crime Section and Deputy Assistant Director of the Criminal Investigation Division. "Runaway" is not what comes to mind.

[sensible]

Heli,
You are a gem!

[pathenry]

Thank you Heli. You really are super with this stuff.

[DoobieBear11]

Thank you so much, Heli. I don't have sound on my computer and can't seem to fix it, so I really appreciate it!!

This was interesting to me because I wondered very early on if the BHT were hurting the investigation with all her comments.

I will say that I believe, and I know that in this case there was information that was disclosed, it was disclosed in the midst of certain types of surveillance which I think has impeded the investigation and I don't think it was done wilfully, I think they were done, the purposes were to inform the public

[Heli]

:luvu:




A labour of love
And my pleasure

[pax]

Thanks a million, Heli.

[Heli]

It was painfully obvious that Rep Bachus was being exceedingly careful, measuring every word.

The portion that piqued my curiosity most, was his total shutdown when asked about the FBI's participation in the meeting with the arubans and the state and federal officials.

I could only speculate as to the reason the FBI was not present.
Not invited by Bachus; not wanted present by arubans; invited but declined;

Bachus certainly clammed up and gave some interesting non verbal cues that it was a sensitive matter.

Wasn't there a separate meeting with the FBI?

Yes, with the Chief of the Violent Crime Section and Deputy Assistant Director of the Criminal Investigation Division. "Runaway" is not what comes to mind.

I'm not inclined to give that as much traction as you are. The fact remains that there has never been ANY evidence in support of a crime, violent or otherwise.

Does the FBI have a Director of Runaway Division or Chief of the Kidnap Crime Section?

[ViVi]

It was painfully obvious that Rep Bachus was being exceedingly careful, measuring every word.

The portion that piqued my curiosity most, was his total shutdown when asked about the FBI's participation in the meeting with the arubans and the state and federal officials.

I could only speculate as to the reason the FBI was not present.
Not invited by Bachus; not wanted present by arubans; invited but declined;

Bachus certainly clammed up and gave some interesting non verbal cues that it was a sensitive matter.

Wasn't there a separate meeting with the FBI?

Yes, with the Chief of the Violent Crime Section and Deputy Assistant Director of the Criminal Investigation Division. "Runaway" is not what comes to mind.

I'm not inclined to give that as much traction as you are. The fact remains that there has never been ANY evidence in support of a crime, violent or otherwise.

Does the FBI have a Director of Runaway Division or Chief of the Kidnap Crime Section?

There is a Crimes Against Children investigative unit--they investigate kidnappings that are within FBI jurisdiction. Running away is not a federal crime, so no I dont think there's a Runaway Division.

I'm not saying Bachus knows for certain what happened, but he gives a good idea of what he thinks happened. He mentions murder and murder investigations over and over again.

[SavannahStar]

Heli, what a great job........as always! You really are the best, and we are so proud of you on Refs!

[Lazlo]

Thanks Heli!!!

He has organized extensive timelines, he's organized every piece of evidence, every piece is categorized and numbered and he is in charge of that.

What "pieces of evidence" is he referring to?
"every piece is categorized and numbered"?

I did not know there were pieces of evidence collected ever, let alone being categorized and numbered.

[Gabrielle]

Heli...thank you so much.
I tried to take notes, but kept getting distracted.
THANK YOU

[Gabrielle]

It was painfully obvious that Rep Bachus was being exceedingly careful, measuring every word.

The portion that piqued my curiosity most, was his total shutdown when asked about the FBI's participation in the meeting with the arubans and the state and federal officials.

I could only speculate as to the reason the FBI was not present.
Not invited by Bachus; not wanted present by arubans; invited but declined;

Bachus certainly clammed up and gave some interesting non verbal cues that it was a sensitive matter.

In his sweet way, I thought Bachus sounded semi-pissed at the FBI.

[Hannie]

The Birmingham FBI you mean Gaby?

Maybe i misunderstand a bit, but is what i read in all the posts about the FBI ( Birmingham section) where there were leaks?? Leaks as in that some agent leaked things to Beth and Co? And is it because of that, they were replaced by the Florida FBI? Or am I seeing things .....

[Heli]

It was painfully obvious that Rep Bachus was being exceedingly careful, measuring every word.

The portion that piqued my curiosity most, was his total shutdown when asked about the FBI's participation in the meeting with the arubans and the state and federal officials.

I could only speculate as to the reason the FBI was not present.
Not invited by Bachus; not wanted present by arubans; invited but declined;

Bachus certainly clammed up and gave some interesting non verbal cues that it was a sensitive matter.

In his sweet way, I thought Bachus sounded semi-pissed at the FBI.

His pallor could have been the by-product of a previous night bender or not having had breakfast or lunch, or feeling tired or so many other things. I'm not prepared to associate any alleged pallor to having heard something "scary" during the meeting with the Aruban delegation.

He was not easy to transcribe; he is not a coherent speaker and the Alabama drawl made some words subject to multiple playbacks

Semi-pissed is that like half in the bag?

[DoobieBear11]

It was painfully obvious that Rep Bachus was being exceedingly careful, measuring every word.

The portion that piqued my curiosity most, was his total shutdown when asked about the FBI's participation in the meeting with the arubans and the state and federal officials.

I could only speculate as to the reason the FBI was not present.
Not invited by Bachus; not wanted present by arubans; invited but declined;

Bachus certainly clammed up and gave some interesting non verbal cues that it was a sensitive matter.

In his sweet way, I thought Bachus sounded semi-pissed at the FBI.

His pallor could have been the by-product of a previous night bender or not having had breakfast or lunch, or feeling tired or so many other things. I'm not prepared to associate any alleged pallor to having heard something "scary" during the meeting with the Aruban delegation.

He was not easy to transcribe; he is not a coherent speaker and the Alabama drawl made some words subject to multiple playbacks

Semi-pissed is that like half in the bag?

It could possibly even been confused and upset because everything he knew about the case from the Twittys was proven wrong once he was face to face with the investigators.

Had to laugh about your description of the way he talked. I'm from North Carolina and I talk like Gomer Pyle with a lisp to boot!!

[bamuda]

Thank you Heli!

[DiamondDot]

Yes, with the Chief of the Violent Crime Section and Deputy Assistant Director of the Criminal Investigation Division. "Runaway" is not what comes to mind.

I agree.

Isn't this about the same time the 'shit hit the fan' in MB? Beth suddenly received orders to remove the posters/ribbons, letters from attorneys to leave their kids alone, and marching orders from Jug? Isn't that about the same time we never heard "FBI" again, from those lying pieces of crap, Beth Twitty or Jug?

When the FBI gets involved at this level (Chief of the Violent Crime Section and Deputy Assistant Director of the Criminal Investigation Division), every aspect of one's life is thoroughly investigated.

Be careful what you wish for, huh?

[DiamondDot]

I'm not inclined to give that as much traction as you are. The fact remains that there has never been ANY evidence in support of a crime, violent or otherwise.

Does the FBI have a Director of Runaway Division or Chief of the Kidnap Crime Section?

Heli, runaways don't warrant an FBI division. Kidnapping is a Federal crime.