Obama Administration Paid Ransom and Released 5 Top Gitmo Detainees for Army Deserter Bowe Bergdahl

I thought the United States did not pay ransoms to terrorists?

It turns out that the Obama administration did pay money to terrorists in an attempt to get the release of Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl. UNREAL. The Department of Defense did pay a ransom for the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl but the transaction’s Afghan middle man ran off with the cash. This goes against previous Pentagon statements in 2009 where they denied doing any such thing. LIARS!!!  The ransom payment also goes against President Obama’s strategy finical strategy in pressuring foreign governments, corporations and families of captives not to pay ransom. What are the odds we will hear Obama say, he just learned about this scandal too? But when that failed, Obama did the next worse thing … released 5 GITMO terrorists for a deserter.

The Department of Defense attempted to pay a ransom for the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl but the transaction’s Afghan intermediary ran off with the cash, according to a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

The claims directly contradict statements from the Pentagon, which has vehemently denied that it paid cash to a Taliban splinter group that captured Bergdahl in 2009. The administration in May released five-value Guantanamo Bay detainees in exchange for Bergdahl’s release.

Remember following the release of Bowe Bergdahl, FOX News reported that the Obama administration may have given the Taliban and Haqqani terrorists money as well as the five top Taliban prisoners? Watch the VIDEO below of the Catherine Herridge interview with Greta Van Susteran and On the Record.

VIDEO Hat Tip – The Gateway Pundit

The Washington Times:

The Pentagon is under fire for making a ransom payment to an Afghan earlier this year as part of a failed bid to win the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, according to U.S. officials.

Sgt. Bergdahl was released in May after nearly five years in captivity as part of a controversial exchange for five terrorists held at the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The ransom payment was first disclosed by Rep. Duncan Hunter in a Nov. 5 letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Mr. Hunter stated in the letter that Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) made the payment covertly as part of a release deal. But the money was stolen by the Afghan intermediary claiming to represent the Haqqani terrorist network.

“Given the significance of this matter, as well as the fact that Pentagon officials have denied that a payment was even considered — and you also said you were unaware of any such attempt — I ask you to immediately inquire with JSOC to determine the specific order of events,” said Mr. Hunter, California Republican and member of the House Armed Services Committee.

Mr. Hunter also asked Mr. Hagel whether ransom payments are being considered for other captives.

Disclosure of the ransom payment undermines a key financial element of President Obama’s strategy to counter the Islamic State — pressuring foreign governments, corporations and families of captives not to pay ransom. In a speech in September, David S. Cohen, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said the Islamic State made $20 million this year in ransoming hostages.