By Karen DeYoung. Washington Post Staff Writer. Thursday, March 9, 2000; Page A26
Washington attorney Gregory B. Craig, who represented President Clinton during his impeachment and trial, has been hired by the Cuban father of 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez to represent him in this country in his efforts to be reunited with his son.
Craig and a Spanish-speaking associate met "alone and privately" with Juan Miguel Gonzalez late last week in Cuba, according to a statement from their law firm, Williams and Connolly. "We are satisfied that Mr. Gonzalez is not being coerced in any way in his desire to be reunited"
with Elian, the statement said. It said the Justice Department had been informed that Gonzalez "is prepared to come to the United States to take custody of his son and will do so at the earliest possible moment."
Craig's representation applies only to Juan Miguel Gonzalez's dealings with the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Department of Justice, and is not a factor in a federal court hearing scheduled for today in Miami, legal sources said. Judge K. Michael Moore will hear arguments in a
suit filed by Elian's great-uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez, against the Justice Department and the INS to force consideration of political asylum petitions Lazaro Gonzalez has filed on the child's behalf.
Justice and the INS contend that there are no grounds to contest that decision and, even if there were, Lazaro Gonzalez has no standing to do so. Elian has been living with his great-uncle in Miami since he was found floating in the Atlantic Ocean after a shipwreck in which his mother and others
drowned.
In January, the INS ordered that the boy be returned to his father in Cuba. But Lazaro Gonzalez, with the support of powerful factions in Miami's Cuban American community, has refused to do so on grounds that life in communist Cuba is tantamount to child abuse.
Those fighting the INS order have also insisted that Juan Miguel Gonzalez has been pressured by the Cuban government to insist on Elian's return. Gonzalez's refusal to travel to this country to fight for custody of his son also has been interpreted by his Miami relatives as evidence that Cuba
will not allow his departure for fear he would decide to remain in this country.
Gonzalez, with backing from the State Department, has said it is the INS's responsibility to enforce its order of return and has said he is loathe to come here and risk involvement in an extended legal battle.
Although yesterday's Williams and Connolly statement gave no indication of a change in Gonzalez's position, Justice Department sources said that it marked the clearest statement to date of his willingness to travel here once Elian is in INS hands and was "a positive development" that "will
make it easier for us to negotiate with the father."
Craig originally was approached several weeks ago to represent Gonzalez by the New York-based National Council of Churches. Sources said the law firm did not want to be involved until it was assured it would have direct access to Gonzalez without Cuban government interference. It was unclear who
would be responsible for Williams and Connolly's fees. Gonzalez is a gatekeeper at a mall and amusement center in Cuba's Veradero tourist resort.
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