Above The Edicts: Pentagon broke the law in Bergdahl transfer

Washington - The Defence Department violated US law by failing to alert Congress before releasing five Taliban members held at Guantanamo Bay military prison in exchange for a captured US soldier, a government watchdog agency said on Thursday.

Above The Edicts: Pentagon broke the law in Bergdahl transfer 3786427211

Above The Edicts: Pentagon broke the law in Bergdahl transfer 3786427211

The Government Accountability Office said the Pentagon broke the law by using money appropriated by Congress to carry out the transfer of Guantanamo prisoners without giving lawmakers the required 30-day notice.

“In addition, because DoD (the Department of Defence) used appropriated funds to carry out the transfer when no money was available for that purpose, DoD violated the Antideficiency Act” barring agencies from spending more than authorised, the GAO said in a letter posted on its website.

The GAO assessment was requested by Republican lawmakers who were angered over the lack of notice they'd received about the US decision in May to transfer five Taliban prisoners to Qatar in exchange for the release of Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl.

Senator Saxby Chambliss, vice-chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said the GAO finding validated the view that President Barack Obama had “completely disregarded laws duly passed by Congress and signed by his own hand” by allowing a prisoner transfer that cost almost $1 million.

“This latest overreach regarding our national security has dangerous implications,” Chambliss said in a statement. “The United States has a longstanding policy of not negotiating with terrorists for good reason, and these senior Taliban leaders will soon rejoin the fight.”

But the Pentagon defended the transfer, insisting the prisoner swap to recover Bergdahl was conducted lawfully after consultations with the Justice Department.

http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/pentagon-broke-the-law-in-bergdahl-transfer-1.1739266
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Above The Edicts: Pentagon broke the law in Bergdahl transfer

Above The Edicts: Pentagon broke the law in Bergdahl transfer

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