Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) on Friday met with Dee Kelly, the wife of Greg Kelley who has been detained in Japan for allegedly falsifying securities reports.
Greg Kelly, a former Nissan executive, has been held in the country since 2018 and could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Senator Hagerty, previously served as U.S. ambassador to Japan, has remained skeptical of the process that Greg Kelly has undergone, criticizing the Japanese legal system.
Greg Kelly has received support from former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn.
“Obviously he (Greg Kelly) is innocent,” Ghosn told the Associated Press. “Greg [Kelly] is probably the person, from all the teams I had, one of the most professional. Highest integrity person I know. That’s one of the reasons I trusted him.”
After his meeting, Hagerty pledged to continue to fight for Greg Kelly’s return to the United States.
“Very glad to meet w/ Dee Kelly—whose husband, Tennessean Greg Kelly, is wrongly detained in Japan & suffering hostage justice in a matter that should’ve been rightfully addressed in a boardroom & not wrongly brought into a courtroom. I won’t rest until Greg returns home safely,” Senator Hagerty tweeted.
Very glad to meet w/ Dee Kelly—whose husband, Tennessean Greg Kelly, is wrongly detained in Japan & suffering hostage justice in a matter that should've been rightfully addressed in a boardroom & not wrongly brought into a courtroom. I won’t rest until Greg returns home safely. pic.twitter.com/foxrL9CyVr
— Senator Bill Hagerty (@SenatorHagerty) November 26, 2021
Previously, Hagerty urged Rahm Emanuel, President Joe Biden’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Japan, to prioritize Greg Kelly if confirmed to the position.
Following Hagerty’s questioning in a confirmation hearing, Emanuel pledged to make Kelly a “top priority.”
“I’ve already started to inquire about this and I want a report on my desk and … if you start asking that, that goes from here to up here as a top priority,” Emmanuel said. “This is not just another piece of business to be checked out. I’m going to be approaching this subject as a former U.S. congressman, who knows what it means when you have a constituent at heart.”
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Bill Hagerty and Dee Kelly” by Bill Hagerty.
