Boehner: Congress Was Briefed on Bin Laden, But Not Bergdahl Swap?
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) criticized the Obama administration Tuesday morning for not briefing Congress on the specifics of the Bowe Bergdahl prisoner swap, arguing that the White House’s fear of leaks was absurd given other high-profile briefings.
“Six months before Osama bin Laden was taken down, I was briefed on this,” Boehner said. “I was briefed multiple times over the course of the six months. I was given a heads-up several days before this happened. So the idea that they couldn’t trust us on these things is just not true.”
Boehner said Congress had been briefed years ago on the potential for a Bergdahl prisoner swap, but nothing regarding the five-to-one deal that came about two weeks ago.
“The biggest issue here is the violation of a policy that the United States has had for many, many years, that we don’t negotiate with terrorists,” Boehner added. “We have violated that policy, and as a result we have made americans less safe, here and around the world. “We’re going to pay for this. There is not any doubt in my mind that there are going to be costs, lost lives associated with what came out of this.”
Watch the clip below, via NBC News:
[Image via screengrab]
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