Some of my readers may have been following the stories about the Seattle film crew who were detained in Nigeria for allegedly traveling illegally in southern Nigeria. A Montanan was part of the crew.

It’s a tough situation when Americans are detained and jailed in foreign countries. It’s best to let the professionals at the State Department and in the local embassies be the lead. If a press release or public information is released, they should come from these folks, not an elected official craving public attention.

It seems Montana’s two U.S. Senators decided this was a good press opportunity, instead of quietly working behind the scene and keeping the family informed. They decided to issue press releases and make statements to the press and on the Senate floor. Governor Brian Schweitzer decided he wanted to call Nigerian officials. Both Baucus and Schweitzer are running for reelection this year, so we know they want their names in the news. Tester? Well, he just doesn’t know any better.

Their actions could have escalated the situation into something worse for the Americans. Thankfully, it does not look like it did. The Seattle film crew is still in Nigeria, although reports say they are now in the American embassy.

Max Baucus, Jon Tester and Brian Schweitzer should have just kept their mouths shut, except to say they were aware of and working on the situation, at least until the crew was safely out of the country or until they were safely in the hands of the officials at the American embassy. Then Baucus, Tester, and Schweitzer could have patted themselves on the back and crowed to Montanans about how hard they worked to get their release.