Posted on 06/03/2014 6:39:03 PM PDT by kristinn
The Obama administration has apologized for bypassing Congress before it released senior Taliban commanders from Guantanamo Bay as part of a controversial prisoner exchange.
The expression of regret was a major shift for the White House, which had previously offered a defiant defense on why it could not adhere to the notification provisions of a 2013 law.
SNIP
White House chief of staff Denis McDonough said Monday that Congress knew well in advance that the president might release detainees from Guantanamo in exchange for Bergdahl.
“We’ve been consulting with members of Congress about this effort, including the potential transfer of five Gitmo detainees, for years,” he said. “So this should not have been a surprise to any of the members of Congress who’ve been … commenting about it.”
Other administration officials, including Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, have indicated swift action was needed because of Bergdahl’s deteriorating health.
Over the last several days, the White House has suggested that talks about a possible trade have gone on for years. During a speech in Poland on Tuesday, Obama said his administration “has consulted with Congress for quite some time” on the issue.
However, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) on Tuesday pointed out that lawmakers hadn’t been briefed on a Bergdahl exchange since 2011.
McDonough, meanwhile, struck a more conciliatory tone when he met with Senate Democrats at a Tuesday lunch meeting to discuss their concerns about the deal.
“He was brought to the caucus today to explain the situation with Bergdahl, and he ended his presentation by saying, ‘If anyone has any questions, I’ll be happy to talk to you,’ ” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
What, he’s not sending Susan Rice?
Isn’t she a “top aide?”
Oh NOW he’s going to let consult congress?
She (Susan Rice) is making the media rounds, she said the 6 guys who are saying he was a traitor are not being truthful and that bergdahl (or whatever his name is) served honorably.
What’s amazing to me is that they would send Susan Rice to do this after the Benghazi debacle but it seems the administration thinks people are still gullible enough to believe. lol!
The Smidgens of Barry’s father are blowing up all over the place. I never thought it was a good idea to put a Kenyan exchange student in the White House in the first place. Damn freeloading, low info voters.
“The transfers went ahead with no consultation, totally not following the law” - GOP partisan wingnut Sen. Dianne Feinstein
Now let’s be fair here. Obama himself didn’t know about the swap until he read about it in the newspaper.
They only care about the LIVs. The rest of us can go straight to the Devil.
Obama acts "in your face" all the time.
It’s like the body politic had been knocked into a stupor.
The decision to do this was completely predictable. The Obama administration has favored traitors over patriots in every decision that they have ever made. But I doubt that actually figured into the equation this time around. It looked like an easy way to score some political points. They probably would have thrown in a few kilos of highly refined plutonium for Iran if that would helped get this joker back.
Rice is the latest incarnation of “Baghdad Bob”.
The other ones will go to the Devil but not straight...
Bell the emperor, or reveal that the cat is naked, or something!
Ah, so that's why DiFi has clammed up.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) on Tuesday pointed out that lawmakers hadn’t been briefed on a Bergdahl exchange since 2011.
So "Congress was consulted," was it? Well, that's all right, I'm sure a number of loyal administration supporters there will step forward to defend the President anyway. Any minute now.
Just occurred to me ...Bob Bergdahl urged Bowe to trust his military reintegration team, and he also suggested his son could no longer speak English.
Could it be that daddy Bergdahl was instructing his son to speak only in his adopted foreign tongue to avoid revealing too much .? Instructing his son to trust his reintegration team would also suggest that these team members are also fluent in that tongue in order to communicate with Bowe and the administration. I would even venture to guess that the entire bunch are in cahoots to keep the evolving narrative intact as long as possible. This appears to be quite a challenging task given the walk back this afternoon :
State Dept changes it's tune now unsure if Bergdahl captured during combat via theBlaze Perhaps Bowe is not willing to concede to the administration's much desired 'returning rescued hero' meme.
Bowe wow.
How does the administration even manage to screw up their own propaganda? The obvious gamble here was to depict Obama as a man who is willing to do anything to get back the noble American soldier. How’s that going to work when straight out the gate everybody knows the freak is a traitor?
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