Graham Spanier petitions for passport for Saudi Arabia trip

Graham Spanier would like to have his passport back.

In documents filed Thursday in Dauphin County court, attorneys for the former Penn State University president petitioned for the emergency — albeit temporary — return of the document that will let him travel to other countries.

Spanier’s passport was surrendered after his November 2012 arraignment on charges of perjury, conspiracy, obstruction and child endangerment arising from the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, along with two other one-time executives, former athletic director Tim Curley and former vice president Gary Schultz. The case has not progressed to trial yet after years of delays and appeals.

Spanier is free on non-monetary bail. The terms of that release include travel restrictions, but attorneys are asking that he be allowed to travel overseas where he hopes to be “consulting and conducting seminars for the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Higher Education” and participating in a meeting with the International Advisory Committee of Qassim University.

According to the request, the terms of the bail were modified in August 2013 to allow for international travel as long as Spanier worked with the court and the Office of the Attorney General, which is prosecuting his case. The terms asked that he submit requests at least 20 days in advance, and specified that Spanier’s passport be held in the State College OAG’s office, and be returned there within a day of returning.

Spanier requested and received approval to travel to Saudi Arabia in November 2014 for a similar consultation with the ministry. His attorneys also say that business and personal travel to both London and Spain have taken place.

The new trip would happen Oct. 16-24. Spanier’s attorneys say he submitted a request on Aug. 4 for a November trip to Saudi Arabia but was asked by that government to provide an additional series of seminars a month earlier, leading to the new request for access to his passport to obtain a visa “on an exigent basis.”

Last week, Spanier said Dauphin County director of probation Chad Libby denied the request on that grounds that there is no existing extradition treaty between Saudi Arabia and the United States. According to court documents, he later said the denial was at the request of the commonwealth.

According to AG Kathleen Kane’s spokesman Chuck Ardo, “the Attorney General’s Office routinely opposes travel for those accused of felonies to countries with whom the U.S. has no extradition treaties. Mr. Spanier is being treated no different than any one else accused.”

Ardo said he believed prior travel to Saudi Arabia had also been opposed, but the court had made the ultimate decision.

“There is no justification for refusing Dr. Spanier’s request to travel to Saudi Arabia,” attorney Timothy Lewis wrote, calling the move “a significant deprivation of his liberty” that would impact “his ability to earn a livelihood.”

Spanier’s background is in sociology and education, with bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Iowa State and a doctorate from Northwestern. He has chaired the Association of American Universities, the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, the Big Ten Conference Council of Presidents/Chancellors and the NCAA Division I Board of Directors, according to the Penn State digital archives.

This story was originally published September 11, 2015 at 9:51 AM with the headline "Graham Spanier petitions for passport for Saudi Arabia trip."