From NBCNews.com:
Top Lawmakers Say White House Broke Law in Bergdahl Deal
by Kelly O’Donnell
Two top lawmakers on the Senate Intelligence Committee said Tuesday that the Obama administration broke the law by not informing Congress before the prisoner exchange that resulted in Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s release.
Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss said the administration violated the law by failing to address serious concerns they had about the deal to swap Bergdahl for five Taliban detainees. Chambliss said he had not had a conversation with the White House about a possible exchange for at least 18 months.
And that said:
“It comes to us with some surprise and dismay that the transfers went ahead with no consultation, totally not following law,” Feinstein told reporters following a closed door meeting. “And in an issue with this kind of concern to a committee that bears the oversight responsibility, I think you can see that we’re very dismayed about it .”
A further step:
Both also said they do not believe the soldier’s health was a factor in the decision. The White House said Bergdahl’s deteriorating medical state was a reason they did not have time to inform Congress before securing the deal.
The senators also said a White House official contacted them to apologize for not giving advance warning.
Was Diane Feinstein assuaged?
ABCNews wrote:
Bowe Bergdahl Prisoner Swap ‘Totally’ Did Not Follow the Law, Senate Intel Chair Says
by John Parkinson
The Obama administration “totally” did not follow the law when going forward with the Taliban Five exchange for Bowe Bergdahl last weekend, the chairwoman of the Senate’s Intelligence Committee said today.
Dianne Feinstein recounted a classified briefing in November 2011 that she said moved her to join bipartisan letters to President Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that “registered concerns with the proposal and opposed the transfer of the [Guantanamo Bay] detainees to Qatar.”
Clinton wrote back a classified response on Jan. 13, 2012, that “contained security assurances and a promise of consultation with the Congress,” Feinstein said.
“To my knowledge, there were no further consultations on the subject until my staff director received a mid-day Saturday call from [Deputy Director of National Intelligence Robert Cardillo] saying that Bergdahl was back in United States custody and the Taliban detainees at Gitmo were being flown to Qatar,” Feinstein, D-Calif., said after a classified briefing today.
“There are circumstances when the president needs to act quickly,” Feinstein conceded, but given the lawmakers’ expressed written concerns, she believes the administration should have contacted Congress prior to the trade.
“I strongly believe that we should have been consulted, that the law should have been followed, and I very much regret that that was not the case,” Feinstein said. “It comes with some surprise and dismay that the transfers went ahead with no consultation, totally not following the law, and in an issue of this kind of concern to a committee that bears the oversight responsibility, I think you can see that we’re very dismayed about it.”
Isn’t that odd?
Demorats — now — wanting Obaka to hold to the law.
BZ