Copyright © 1999 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

Anne McLellan's press statement on Peltier is, "Reason For Outrage"!

On May 5, 1999 Canadian Minister of Justice, Anne McLellan stated to the press that she would soon release the results of the internal review of the Peltier extradition but that she wanted to make clear that there was "no evidence of any fraud in the extradition process" and that "without the (controversial) affidavits there was sufficient evidence to justify extradition." She also stated that she had been waiting for the U.S. government to give her permission to release the results and she received that permission on Wednesday. She then stated that, "It will be a case of simply compiling the entire file and providing it."

The fact that Anne McLellan straight-forwardly stated that there was no fraud in Peltier’s extradition should very well be a large embarrassment to the Canadian Government and an outrage to the people of Canada. Several U.S. and Canadian government officials including Senior Court Judges have referred to the extradition as a shameful use of government misconduct. As Warren Allmand, the former Solicitor General of Canada who played an important role in the review of the extradition has repeatedly stated, "once the Myrtle Poor [Bear] affidavit was found fraudulent, there was absolutely no other evidence to support the extradition."

McLellan’s statement reflects the willingness of the Canadian Government to acquiesce to what ever it is the U.S. government wants them to do, say, and not say. Knowing that McLellan had to wait for the permission of the U.S. to release the results of the review, coupled with the fact that she has made totally unfounded and false statements, we would be foolish to now trust her to fairly interpret the documents which constitute the review and release this information. We want the documents released so we can see them for ourselves and we will not allow this attempt to further obstruct justice in the Peltier case discourage our efforts to have the truth be dealt with.

The cooperation between Canadian and U.S. government officials to obstruct justice in the Peltier case is nothing new. The Canadian Government appointed one of its own prosecutors, Paul Halprin, to represent the U.S. in its attempts to extradite Peltier from Canada in 1976. Halprin was able to provide U.S. officials with knowledge of what would and would not be successful in their attempts to extradite Peltier. Further, he involved himself in the manipulation of evidence presented to the Canadian Court in order to ensure Peltier’s successful extradition. According to FBI documents, Halprin not only knew that there were conflicting affidavits from Poor Bear, he also advised that they be used with the elimination of the contradicting one. If indeed all three affidavits had been submitted to the Canadian Court, it would have rendered the affidavits one hundred percent useless. Of course Canada was under a lot of pressure to extradite Peltier, as even Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger eventually became involved.

Peltier was arrested in Canada on February 6, 1976 and from the beginning (according to FBI documents) Halprin had advised the FBI that they did not have enough evidence to extradite Peltier for the murders of the agents . Halprin also made it clear to the FBI that, under international extradition ruling, Peltier could ONLY be tried for what he was extradited for. If they did not come up with enough evidence, they would be unable to prosecute him for the murders of the agents in the U.S. In an FBI teletype it was stated that, "Halprin, after being furnished all details as requested, continued his adamantcy in proceeding solely on the Milwaukee charges. It was only after considerable pressure and direction by those attending the meeting that Halprin acquiesced to proceed on all charges." On February 12, 1976 a warrant was issued for all charges. The only evidence regarding the FBI agents’ murders presented consisted solely of alleged links between Peltier and various items of physical evidence from the scene. Such evidence included a single thumb print on a used paper bag (which contained many other prints) found in Oregon which allegedly contained Coler’s gun. At this time there were no eyewitnesses and no mention of Myrtle Poor Bear was made.

Perhaps this is why the extradition proceedings did not take place until several weeks later, after Halprin met with FBI officials and US prosecutors in Rapid City. The contents of the FBI report which documents this meeting is almost totally blacked out for reasons of "national security." However it was later established and documented that it was during this meeting that Halprin advised the FBI and US Prosecutors regarding the use of the Poor Bear affidavits. The extradition proceeding began on May 3, 1976. Two out of the three Poor Bear affidavits were submitted. The court ordered Peltier extradited on June 18, 1976.

Peltier was extradited for: 1. Attempted murder of police officer Ronald Hlavinka in Milwaukee, on Nov. 22, 1972; 2. Murder of SA Ronald Williams on Pine Ridge, June 26, 1975; 3. Murder of SA Jack Coler on Pine Ridge, June 26, 1975; 4. Burglary near Nyssa, Ontario, Nov. 15, 1975. The only charges that are relevant to the extradition today are the FBI agents murder charges. The charges for the burglary were dropped due to lack of evidence and Peltier was found innocent on the attempted murder charges.

Clearly there was not enough evidence to extradite Peltier on the charges of the FBI murders without the Poor Bear affidavits. Eight Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Ross stated during Peltier’s first appeal, "what happened, happened in such a way that it gives some credence to the claim of the Indian people that the United States is willing to resort to any tactic in order to bring somebody back to the United States from Canada. And if they are willing to do that, they must be willing to fabricate other evidence. And it’s no wonder that they are unhappy and disbelieve the things that happened in our courts when things like this happen." Eight Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Heaney who heard Peltier’s second appeal later referred to tactics used to extradite Peltier as disgraceful. Several Canadian MP’s and US Congress and Senate people have referred to the extradition in similar fashions.

The pressure must continue for Anne McLellan to release the results of the review as well as all related documents. If you are not in Canada, call, fax, email, and visit the nearest Canadian embassy, consulate, trade mission or their representative branch and of course Anne McLellan to express your reaction to the above information. If you are in Canada, continue contacting McLellan as well as other government officials to demand the release of the results and all documents related to the review of the Peltier extradition.

Contact information for:

The Honorable Anne Mc Clellan,
Member of Parliament Minister of Justice
The House of Commons
Ottawa, Canada K1A 0A6
Phone: (613) 992-4524
Fax: (613) 996-4516

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