The Obama administration made a ransom payment to an Afghan “con man” earlier this year in an unsuccessful attempt to secure the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, according to a Washington Times report. Best-selling author Brad Thor predicted there was likely money exchanged as part of the deal in a previous op-ed on TheBlaze.
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) revealed the ransom payment in a Nov. 5 letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. The congressman noted that the DoD’s Joint Special Operations Command delivered the payment, but it was stolen by the “intermediary” who claimed to represent the hostage takers, the report adds.
"Given the significance of this matter, as well as the fact that Pentagon officials have denied that a payment was even considered — and you also said you were unaware of any such attempt — I ask you to immediately inquire with JSOC to determine the specific order of events," Hunter stated.
In this image taken from video obtained from Voice Of Jihad Website, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, right, stands with a Taliban fighter in eastern Afghanistan. The Taliban on Wednesday, June 4, 2014, released a video showing the handover of Bergdahl to U.S. forces in eastern Afghanistan, touting the swap of the American soldier for five Taliban detainees from Guantanamo as a significant achievement for the insurgents. (AP Photo/Voice Of Jihad Website via AP video)
Bergdahl was ultimately released after the Obama administration agreed to release five terrorists from Guantanamo Bay.
The explosive report comes one day after White House press secretary Josh Earnest said President Barack Obama believes that it’s “not in the best interest of American citizens to pay ransoms to any organization, let alone a terrorist organization.”
So far this year, the Islamic State has reportedly raked in $20 million ransoming hostages.
In June, Thor said the “biggest question” about the Bergdahl swap should be whether the White House was directly or indirectly involved in making a ransom payment to the terrorist organization, which he argued is the same as the U.S. government funding a terror group.
“I’m telling you, there was some sort of deal in this for the Haqqanis that the White House doesn’t want to talk about,” Thor previously said on TheBlaze TV. “I promise you.”
In a phone interview with TheBlaze on Thursday, Thor said there are still several unanswered questions about the Bergdahl case, including why the U.S. Army has yet to release the findings of its investigation and why the administration repeatedly denied making any payments. He argued the Obama administration is "keeping a lid" on the Bergdahl investigation and will claim the stolen ransom payment was only for "intelligence."
He called the new report suggesting the U.S. government attempted to pay a ransom to a terrorist organization "disgusting." Thor also said the Obama administration is officially "full of s**t" and doesn't have a "shred of credibility left."
"This is why we don't negotiate with terrorists," he told TheBlaze. "The Haqqanis got their money, the Taliban got five of their guys out -- and we got a deserter. It's a disaster. And now it set's a terrible precedent and terrorists will be incentivized to grab as many Americans as they can."
Thor explained that the Haqqanis, the group who actually held Bergdahl, are the "Sopranos of the Islamic world" and mostly interested in money, making his prediction not so far-fetched.
But the latest revelations could "haunt" Obama now that there is a Republican Congress, according to the author. He called on lawmakers to investigate the Bergdahl case thoroughly and determine if serious crimes were committed by the Obama administration.
Watch his previous appearance on TheBlaze TV below:
