By Jonah Goldberg August 4, 2016 One of my all-time favorite lines is from Henry Thoreau: Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk. It came to mind this week when the White House and State Department insisted that the charge the U.S. paid a ransom to get back American hostages was purely circumstantial. Sometimes, a $400 million pay-off in laundered money, delivered in the dead of night in an unmarked cargo plane isnt what it looks like. January 16 was Implementation Day for the nuclear deal between the United States and Iran, in which the state sponsor of terror received sanctions relief possibly worth as much as $150 billion which would be roughly equivalent to 40 percent of its GDP in exchange for some guarantees against developing nuclear weapons for a while. (The merits, and even the nature, of the Iran nuclear deal are hotly disputed, but thats a topic for another time.) That same day, the Obama administration announced a prisoner swap between the U.S. and Iran, in which we traded 7 Iranian criminals and removed another 14 from an Interpol most wanted list. In exchange, they returned four innocent Americans, illegally held by the Iranian regime. Back then, Secretary of State John Kerry boasted about what a masterful diplomatic breakthrough it was. Those Americans were freed thanks to the relationships forged and the diplomatic channels unlocked over the course of the nuclear talks, Kerry preened. Yes, well maybe. But few things really cement a solid working relationship like $400 million in cash. Kerry failed to mention that part in his press conferences or Congressional testimony. In fact, the Obama administration kept the whole thing a secret. (Excerpt) Read more: http://nypost.com/2016/08/04/if-it-wasnt-a-ransom-payment-why-did-obama-keep-it-secret/ The Obama regime paid a bribe, a ransom, to a terrorist state. Worse. They used our hard-earned tax dollars to do so. Obama says he didnt pay ransom for the hostages, at a minimum he kept all aspects of the exchange a secret such as the fact that the money was delivered in unmarked bills on an unmarked plane and that the money was exchanged at the same time as the hostages. Also the fact that he Iranians themselves say it was ransom is pretty damning. But hey, would Obama an his administration Ever Lie To Us? Remember the so-called Bergdahl June 2014? The ransom plan was supposedly abandoned, but the intelligence official insisted that there is reason to believe that cash changed hands as part of the deal. The Haqqanis could give a rats ass about prisoners, the official said, referring to the Haqqani Network, a designated terrorist group in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the five Guantanamo Bay prisoners who were freed in exchange for Bergdahls release. The people that are holding Bergdahl want[ed] cash and someone paid it to them, he said. There a $5 million dollar ransom along with 5 known terrorists were traded. See: http://freebeacon.com/national-security/experts-say-cash-ransom-may-have-been-paid-for-bergdahl/ Obama promised to "Fundamentally Transform America". He has. WE NOW HAVE A GOVT. THAT BOLDLY LIES TO YOUR FACE. Truly Orwellian times.
11:42 White House Press Briefing January 19th 2016: https://www.c-span.org/video/?403422-1/white-house-briefing So it was sooo secret that they announced it publicly back in January.
What I usually do when I make deals is announce it without giving the actual reason for the exchange, then since everyone now knows about it, I send a bunch of money in other currency in an unmarked jet plane in the middle of the night. I mean, why not, lets just make this as sneaky as possible, even though everyone already knows about it. Oh, and if it happens to occur on the exact same day I get something else in return, well that's a coincidence.
“If It Wasn’t A Ransom Payment, Why Did Obama Keep It Secret?” He didn’t, From CNN January 17, 2016. The U.S. State Department announced the government had agreed to pay Iran $1.7 billion to settle a case related to the sale of military equipment prior to the Iranian revolution, according to a statement issued on Sunday. Iran had set up a $400 million trust fund for such purchases, which was frozen along with diplomatic relations in 1979. In settling the claim, which had been tied up at the Hague Tribunal since 1981, the U.S. is returning the money in the fund along with "a roughly $1.3 billion compromise on the interest," the statement said. http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/17/politics/us-pays-iran-1-7-billion/index.html “They used our hard-earned tax dollars to do so.” It wasn’t our taxpayers money. It was Iran’s money that was frozen during the embargo. See paragraph 2 above.
For the same reason Carter's negotiations for the Embassy Hostages release was secret: Secrecy was an Iranian precondition.
For the OP, seriously? All of the info on this was released in January. Now I will admit, if you listen to Trump this is a huge surprise and definitely a very recent payment for releasing hostages and, more importantly, Trump watched a "video" of $400 million being unloaded from a plane in Tehran. The problem - this "video" does NOT exist. What he watched was pool video of a plane carrying the people released by Iran landing in Switzerland - in January. He did NOT see any money being transferred from a plane in Tehran on "Iranian military film". Trump is dead wrong (again) on all counts and aside from embarrassment (which doesn't bother him), it is far more disturbing that a candidate for the highest office in the land continues to project utter BS - and his minions lap it up. Quite extraordinary..... Is it any wonder Republicans of all stripes are distancing themselves from Trump, the man is a buffoon. Trump has a rally in Green Bay Wisconsin today and it is a stunning list of Wisconsin Republicans who will NOT attend - Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Governor Scott Walker and US Senator Ron Johnson. I don't think Reince Priebus will be there and a host of other Wisconsin Republicans will skip it as well. Amazing, I don't think there has ever been anything like this previously..........
Whether Trump saw something he didn't understand or not, this whole thing was covered rather well by Obama at his press conference yesterday. The money was unfrozen Iranian cash from arms sale dating back to Reagan. It was released as a settlement from an international court case. It was sent to Iran as cash, (Euros, etc. because it couldn't legally be US dollars), because US sanctions on Iran prohibits banking transactions. The timing of the release was because Kerry had negotiated the release of the cash, the release of prisoners, and some verifications measures all on the same trip with the Iranian Foreign Minister. Both sides are in a Trust but Verify mode, so while unrelated, the cautioness of Iranians reflected in their timing is understandable.
It was their money anyway. What's wrong with giving someone their own money? Nothing. On the other hand,It seems Obama's goal is to aid and abet the enemies of the US. As can be evidenced by the trading of 5 enemies of the state for a deserter/traitor. He really needs prosecuted.
Obama could end all this speculation very easily. Show us the receipt where the Iranians acknowledge that the cash payment was in satisfaction of the deal Obama is talking about. They did get a receipt, didn't they?
If he wanted the prisoners back. The simple answer is this: "We want our soldiers back. For every day of delay we will bomb four of you government buildings since there's four soldiers you kidnapped". Garauntee the soldiers would be returned within 24 hours.
About the release of U.S.-held Iranian assets... $400 million in cash was flown to Iran back in January. Was that wrong? August 5,`16 - Some thoughts about the details that emerged this week about the release of U.S.-held Iranian assets from January.
