Here’s What Speaker Boehner Just Said on Congressional Concerns About The Prisoner Exchange

Speaker of the House John Boehner released a statement this afternoon about concerns revolving around the White House’s prisoner exchange for five top-level Taliban operatives.

“More than two years ago,” Boehner said, “Members of Congress were briefed on the possibility of such an exchange, and the chairmen at the time and I raised serious questions to the administration. Unfortunately, the questions and concerns we had were never satisfactorily answered and they remain today.”

“The administration has invited serious questions into how this exchange went down and the calculations the White House and relevant agencies made in moving forward without consulting Congress despite assurances it would re-engage with members on both sides of the aisle.  I support Chairman McKeon’s call for hearings on this matter,” Speaker Boehner said.

Read the whole thing here.

From Speaker Boehner’s Statement on Congressional Concerns Raised About Prisoner Exchange:

“More than two years ago, Members of Congress were briefed on the possibility of such an exchange, and the chairmen at the time and I raised serious questions to the administration.  Unfortunately, the questions and concerns we had were never satisfactorily answered and they remain today.  At the time, the administration deferred further engagement because the prospects of the exchange had diminished.  The administration provided assurances, publicly reiterated by the White House in June 2013, that its engagement with Congress would resume if the prospects for an exchange became credible again.  The briefings in late 2011 and January 2012 were highly compartmented to ensure the safety of Sergeant Bergdahl and to preserve space for diplomatic negotiations.  While press reports at the time citing administration sources revealed that the White House was considering this prisoner exchange, Congress kept the serious ongoing policy and ethical discussion with the administration private.  There was every expectation that the administration would re-engage with Congress, as it did before, and the only reason it did not is because the administration knew it faced serious and sober bipartisan concern and opposition.”