Estimated reading time: 1 minute
THE PATTERN
For six months or more, Covenant for Forgotten Warriors has filed Freedom of Information Act requests seeking basic documentation about how the State Department abandoned Army Sergeant Kelvin Blas in Togo for six years.
The responses have been remarkable not for what they contain, but for what they systematically avoid:
September 17, 2025: CFW files F-2025-28917 requesting:
- Internal communications between Embassy Lomé and Bureau of Consular Affairs
- Case file notes and entries
- Correspondence with other agencies
- Incident reports and status updates
December 3, 2025: State responds with:
- David Burger’s own emails from 2020
- David Burger’s own case summary from 2025
- A fabricated Welfare and Whereabouts report with wrong name, wrong age, wrong letterhead, and blank activity logs
The actual internal communications requested? Never provided.
November 27, 2025: F-2025-28917 closed as “complete”
December 8, 2025: After appeal pointing out fabrication, closed AGAIN
December 17, 2025: New FOIA (F-2026-05989) seeking clarification closed as “duplicate”
They closed the same FOIA twice to make the appeal disappear.
Out of the 9 FOIAs State closed on December 8th, two remain listed as “assigned to processing” in their tracking system: F-2025-30611 and F-2026-05989 (the same request they claimed was a “duplicate”). This contradicts their closure claims and suggests either inadequate searches or deliberate administrative obstruction.
THE JANUARY 8TH VERIFICATION TRAP
On January 8, 2026, CFW filed a forensic verification FOIA requesting:
“All records concerning the creation, generation, review, approval, or dissemination of the document titled ‘Welfare and Whereabouts Service Summary’ bearing reference number LOM20250702369587.”
This FOIA specifically targets:
- Who created the document and when
- Why it has three conflicting dates (June 16, July 2, November 25)
- Why the file metadata shows November 25 creation despite June 16 claimed date
- Why the subject’s name is wrong (Kelvin Bill Blas)
- Why the age is wrong (30 instead of 42)
- Why it’s on Bureau of Consular Affairs letterhead instead of Embassy Lomé
- Why the Activity Log is completely blank
- Why it was never updated despite months of claimed active case management
That FOIA has received no acknowledgment.
MEANWHILE, IN THE PRESS OFFICE…
Contrast CFW’s experience with how State Department handles press inquiries:
When major news organizations file FOIA requests or make inquiries about State Department conduct, responses typically arrive within days or weeks. Public Affairs officers coordinate carefully crafted responses. Background briefings are offered. Context is provided.
When legitimate news stories break about State Department failures, the response machine kicks into overdrive.
The difference isn’t about classified information or privacy concerns. CFW’s FOIAs don’t request classified materials or personally identifiable information about uninvolved parties. They request internal communications, case management documentation, and policy implementation records—exactly the kind of material routinely provided to journalists covering State Department operations.
The difference is institutional control.
News organizations can publish. Nonprofits can only file more FOIAs.
THE IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE
State Department now faces an impossible contradiction of their own making:
On June 16, 2025, they created a Welfare and Whereabouts case designating Kelvin Blas as “fictitious”—the supposed subject of a “long-term romance scam.”
On November 11, 2025, U.S. Embassy security guards in Lomé, Togo physically assaulted Kelvin Blas in front of six witnesses, including U.S. Army Captain Anya Mensah who confirmed his identity.
You cannot assault a fictitious person.
Now CFW has filed a forensic verification FOIA that will force State Department to either:
- Admit the document is fabricated → Proving federal evidence manufacturing and FOIA fraud
- Defend the document as legitimate → Admitting they’ve known Kelvin exists for 6+ years while claiming he’s fake
- Continue stonewalling → Demonstrating consciousness of guilt
All three paths lead to federal crimes.
THE CALCULATION
Here’s what State Department is likely calculating right now:
If they ignore CFW: A small nonprofit has limited resources. Eventually the advocacy will lose momentum. The story will fade. Kelvin will remain stranded. The fabricated records will stay buried.
If they respond to CFW: They legitimize the investigation. They acknowledge the contradictions. They create discoverable admissions. Every response can be used as evidence of knowledge and intent in potential future civil or criminal proceedings.
If they work with major news organizations instead: They control the narrative. They provide “context” that frames the story favorably. They minimize damage through coordinated PR strategies.
The calculation is clear: Stonewall the nonprofit. Court the press if forced.
THE REALITY CHECK
But State Department may be miscalculating in three critical ways:
First: CFW isn’t going away. This isn’t activism—it’s systematic documentation of federal crimes. The organization exists specifically to pursue justice for Kelvin Blas through proper legal channels. The longer they stonewall, the more evidence accumulates.
Second: The forensic verification FOIA creates a permanent record. Whether they respond in 20 days or 200 days, the request exists in their system. The longer they delay, the more their silence demonstrates consciousness of guilt. Every missed deadline strengthens the eventual case for institutional obstruction.
Third: This investigation is already public and documented. The fabricated Welfare and Whereabouts report is published. The metadata analysis is public. The impossible contradiction is documented. News organizations can now access the full investigative record without filing their own FOIAs—CFW has done the work.
The story is already out there. State just hasn’t figured that out yet.
THE DOUBLE STANDARD
This isn’t about CFW being special or deserving preferential treatment. It’s about consistent application of FOIA law.
Either FOIA requesters get the internal communications they properly request, or FOIA has no meaning.
Either federal agencies provide responsive documents instead of fabricating new ones, or the FOIA system is designed to obstruct rather than illuminate.
Either State Department acknowledges reality—that Kelvin Blas exists, is stranded, was abandoned, and was assaulted—or they continue the fiction that protects institutional reputation at the cost of a veteran’s life.
The choice reveals character.
And right now, State Department is revealing that it has different standards for different requesters. Nonprofits get stonewalled. News organizations get courted. Veterans get abandoned.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
CFW will continue filing FOIAs. Every non-response becomes evidence. Every fabricated document gets forensically verified. Every contradiction gets documented.
Eventually, one of three things will happen:
1. State Department provides the requested records
This would prove years of institutional knowledge about Kelvin’s situation, undermining their “romance scam” narrative and potentially exposing criminal negligence.
2. State Department continues stonewalling
This demonstrates consciousness of guilt and provides grounds for judicial intervention through FOIA lawsuits seeking injunctive relief and attorney’s fees.
3. A news organization picks up the story
Then State Department will suddenly find those internal communications they’ve claimed don’t exist, don’t apply, or are too sensitive to release. They’ll provide “context” to journalists they denied to CFW.
Any of these three outcomes exposes the double standard.
THE BOTTOM LINE
State Department knows Kelvin Blas exists.
They’ve known since at least February 2020 when David Burger first contacted Brian Sells at the embassy. They’ve received multiple FOIA requests documenting his situation. They’ve had six years to provide consular assistance. They created (or fabricated) a Welfare and Whereabouts case in June 2025.
Their security guards assaulted him in November 2025.
He’s not fictitious. He’s not a romance scam. He’s a veteran they abandoned.
And when a nonprofit organization files legal requests for documentation about that abandonment, State Department doesn’t provide records. They stonewall.
When news organizations ask similar questions, State Department coordinates responses.
That’s not FOIA compliance. That’s institutional corruption.
Covenant for Forgotten Warriors will continue documenting this pattern. Eventually, the documentation will become undeniable. Eventually, the double standard will collapse under its own contradictions.
The question is how many more FOIAs it will take—and whether a veteran will survive the delay.