Man, this is so wrong.
Utah's Sen. Orrin Hatch, defender of family values, critic of "activist" judges and all-around moral exemplar, just used his influence to get a convicted drug user out of a foreign prison.
Why? The guy Hatch helped is in the music business with Hatch, and the guy knows a lot of famous people, and the guy is rich.
What else do you need to know?
Hatch, when he's not busy with Senate work, writes and publishes religious music. As reported by The New York Times on Saturday, Hatch employs the same entertainment attorney as music producer Dallas Austin. Austin has produced hits for Madonna, Janet Jackson and others.
On May 19, Austin flew to the Arabian Emirate of Dubai for a party. In a customs search at the Dubai airport, a small amount of cocaine and some Ecstasy pills were found. Austin went to jail.
What happened next was something of an influence storm: Austin's lawyer contacted famous musicians to intercede for Austin. He also hired more lawyers, one of whom was a former staffer for Hatch, who called her former boss.
Hatch was the right guy to call. Hatch defended the rulers of Dubai when a company they control was trying to take over management of several U.S. ports. Hatch, as a result, has friends in Dubai.
Austin's attorneys told The New York Times that Hatch made phone calls to the Dubai ambassador and consular offices in Washington. He also served as an intermediary in negotiations.
On July 2, Austin agreed to plead guilty to possession of 1.26 grams of cocaine and some capsules of Ecstasy. He told the court he did not mean to break the law, and said he was sorry.
Then, despite being sentenced to four years in prison, Austin went free. Technically, he was pardoned and deported, but the result is the same. Why is all this wrong?
Drugs are a horrible problem for Utah families. This paper regularly carries stories about children dying from drugs.
Monday's paper carried news of a program at Ogden Regional Medical Center to help families of drug users. A major goal of that program is to help families fight codependency, which is when families do things that make drug use easier.
What sort of things? Protecting drug users from jail is one. Drug users have to face consequences or they keep using. Jail is a big consequence. Then there's the question of fairness.
The U.S. State Department's Web site says 2,500 Americans are arrested overseas every year, a third of them for drug crimes.
The State Department has a very blunt warning for those people. The U.S consular officer "cannot demand your immediate release or get you out of jail or the country!"
But that's you and me. Well-connected music producers can get sprung. I love the part where Austin told the Dubai court he did not mean to break the law. How do you possess cocaine and Ecstasy with legal intent?
I also love where Hatch, in a statement his office released, says he is "confident that this talented young man will learn from this experience."
Oh, he's learning, all right.
He already learned that Hatch's Senate office number - (202) 224-5251 - is what you dial when you need a "Get out of jail free" card.
Wasatch Rambler is the opinion of Charles Trentelman. You can reach him at 625-4232, or e-mail at ctrentelman@standard.net.