Charles Krauthammer blasted the Obama Administration Wednesday for their $400 million cash payment to Iran calling it “bribery” for the release of American hostages as well as “money laundering.”
Appearing on Fox News’s “Special Report,” Krauthammer said, “It was illegal. It isn’t only the optics. It isn’t only that they are just looking ridiculous in denying that it was a quid pro quo. Obviously, it wasn’t a coincidence.” (RELATED: Cruz Blasts Obama Admin For $400 Million Cash Payment: ‘Nothing But A Series Of Bribes’)
“The reason that it was objected to by Justice, there is a statute that prohibits us from engaging in Iran, dealing with dollars. So, they had to print the money here, ship it over to Switzerland, turn it into Swiss francs and euros and ship it over to Iran. If a private company had done this, this is called money laundering,” Krauthammer argued. “The CEO would be in jail right now.” (RELATED: Report: US Secretly Sent Iran $400 Million In Cash The Same Day Prisoners Were Released)
Later Krauthammer said, “The reason it was concealed is because it’s illegal. That’s why Congress wasn’t notified, because it’s scandalous for the administration to explicitly defy a law that says you can’t deal in American currency.”
“And the second thing is, it isn’t only that it encourages terrorism in the future, it’s that the money is in cash. Why in cash? ‘Cause that way you can’t trace it. It’s going to go straight to Hezbollah, straight to Hamas, straight to terrorists in Iraq. It will kill Arabs, it will kill Muslims, Jews in Israel, Americans and foreigners. That’s why it’s in cash.” (VIDEO: National Security Expert: $400 Million In Cash To Iran Was ‘Absolutely A Ransom’)
“This is a totally scandalous piece of bribery and ransom, and there’s no way to get around it,” Krauthammer concluded.
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