Earlier this morning Joe Trippi sent out the following tweet:

Feb 17, 2014 Guess Congress did not read this front page Washington Post story 70 days before Bergdahl release http://t.co/l1wHHD6uLO

— Joe Trippi (@JoeTrippi) June 6, 2014

The link takes you to a Front Page Washington Post article published in FEBRUARY. CLICK HERE

The Post article outlines, with specific detail, what the White House was about to do in trading Gitmo detainees for PFC Bowe Bergdahl. The fact that this much accurate detail was previously known, and yet the White House never consulted congress, is devastating to the White House current narrative:

FEBRUARY 2014 – In an effort to free American captive Bowe Bergdahl before the bulk of U.S. forces leave Afghanistan this year, the Obama administration has decided to try to resume talks with the Taliban and sweeten an offer to trade Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for the Army sergeant, current and former officials said.

(more…)

Let it never be said the New York Times is not filled to the brim with rabid leftist ideologues and defenders of all things liberal.…

New York Times. . .  Cowering politicians now even seem to regret their initial burst of joy that a prisoner was coming home. “A grateful nation welcomes him home,” said Representative Lee Terry, Republican of Nebraska, in a Twitter message on Sunday. The statement on his website was deleted a short time later. “Warmest regards to his family with gratitude for his/their service and sacrifice,” wrote Representative Stephen Lynch, Democrat of Massachusetts, in another quickly deleted tweet.

This duck-and-cover response is the result of the outrageous demonization of Sergeant Bergdahl in the absence of actual facts. Republican operatives have arranged for soldiers in his unit to tell reporters that he was a deserter who cost the lives of several soldiers searching for him. In fact, a review of casualty reports by Charlie Savage and Andrew Lehren of The Times showed there is no clear link between any military deaths and the search. (more…)

One other key aspect not getting as much attention as deserved stems from the avoidance of the legally required notification.

Telling congress about the potential move of Gitmo detainees in a POW swap is one part of the notification. However, the more important part of the law is the part which requires the President to state specifically why the action is being taken, what is the benefit, and what are the risks.  In addition the notification law requires the President to outline the details, the exact terms, inside the negotiated agreement that he’s made.

So, given the President has apologized for not informing congress, will the congressional leadership now demand the President produce the statutorily required information, albeit post facto?

If they don’t….. ask yourself “why not” ?

Let’s quickly nip this one in the bud……

The White House political and communication team know they are in a world of political hurt for not notifying congress of the pending Bergdahl deal to swap Taliban officers for the missing army soldier. Now they attempt to spin their way out with another ridiculous justification.

BREAKING: Officials: Congress not told of swap because Taliban threatened to kill Bergdahl if it leaked .

— The Associated Press (@AP) June 5, 2014

There are many factual issues with this latest justification construct from the Denis McDonough/Ben Rhodes crew, which now extends into the military via Chuck Hagel. FULL AP story HERE

One of the more brutally obvious flaws in the “make-believe” is one of facts and history.

FACT – Before the Osama Bin Laden ‘Kill/Capture mission’ both Senate Intelligence Committee head Dem Senator Diane Feinstein, and Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss, were briefed during discussion of the mission.

A full week prior to the actual raid on OBL compound both Feinstein and Chambliss were told of the mission.

They were also briefed when the mission launched. (more…)

Holy SNAP – If these intelligence reports (James Rosen is working to verify) are accurate, Bergdahl will never be allowed by the administration to leave Germany.   It would be far too politically dangerous to allow sunlight upon such explosive allegations.

Forget Obama -he’s already toast- we’re talking about team Clinton who would NOT want to be associated with such optics….

Allegation:  PFC Bowe Bergdahl taught the Taliban U.S. military engagement strategy and tactics, ambush skills, along with bomb-making and effective placement for maximum infliction of damage ?

Can you imagine the damage not only to this administration, but to the larger Democrat party and to Hillary Clinton, as a result of President Obama standing in the Rose Garden, conspicuously joining in a proclamation of victory on behalf of Allah, against the backdrop of a son who taught the Taliban more effective ways to kill U.S. soldiers.

Good grief the opposition campaign commercials write themselves….  Listen to this:

(more…)

Army Sgt. Evan Buetow, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s former team leader, tells Jake Tapper that following Bergdahl’s capture by the Taliban, attacks on US forces were “far more directed”.   Proof that Bergdahl was actively seeking out the Taliban were earlier radio interceptions telling them that Bergdahl was looking for someone who spoke English so he could talk to the Taliban.

Watch the clip below via CNN:  (You may have to turn the volume up.)

(Mediate)…In an appearance on CNN with Jake Tapper on Tuesday, former Army Sgt. Evan Buetow, U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s team leader on the night he disappeared from his base in Afghanistan, asserted that he had access to radio intercepts which indicated that Bergdahl actively sought out the Taliban. Following Bergdahl’s capture, Buetow alleged, the Taliban’s attacks on Americans became “far more directed.”

Buetow told CNN that, within days of Bergdahl’s disappearance, military teams monitoring radio communications intercepted radio chatter and telephonic communication which indicated that an American was searching for Taliban members who spoke English.

“When we heard that, it told us, okay, he’s actively seeking out the Taliban,” Buetow said. “And, yes, over the next couple of months, all the attacks were far more directed.”

(more…)

Progressives love to drag you down in the muck and begin a slugfest of obfuscation.   They are working diligently to attach the (Defense Authorization Act) ie “Congressional Notification Law”, to the right of the President to take action.

Don’t fall for it.    These are two entirely separate and distinct issues.

The law is specifically clear.   The President must notify congress.  Period.

There is nothing within the notification law which impedes his ability to act on a release itself.   They are two separate aspects.

The President has the authority to release GITMO detainees based on his own considerations.   However, he has the legal responsibility to notify congress 30 days prior to doing so. He did not.

(more…)

(Via CBS) Questions persisted, too, about the circumstances of Bergdahl’s 2009 capture. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel declined to comment on earlier reports that the sergeant had walked away from his unit, disillusioned with the war. Such matters “will be dealt with later,” Hagel said.

Hagel, visiting troops in Afghanistan, was met with silence when he told a group of them in a Bagram Air Field hangar:

“This is a happy day. We got one of our own back.”

It was unclear whether the absence of cheers and applause came from a reluctance to display emotion in front of the Pentagon chief or from any doubts among the troops about Bergdahl.  (link)

James Rosen – A senior official confirms to Fox News that the conduct of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl — both in his final stretch of active duty in Afghanistan and then, too, during his time when he lived among the Taliban — has been thoroughly investigated by the U.S. intelligence community and is the subject of “a major classified file.”

In conveying as much, the Defense Department source confirmed to Fox News that many within the intelligence community harbor serious outstanding concerns not only that Bergdahl may have been a deserter but that he may have been an active collaborator with the enemy.

The Pentagon official added pointedly that no relevant congressional committee has sought access to the classified file, but that if such a request were made, key committee chairs would, under previous precedent, likely be granted access to it. Separately, the Pentagon confirmed Monday that it is looking into claims Americans died during the search for Bergdahl.  (more…)

A pro-Taliban website has published a video that claims to show Taliban detainees arriving in Qatar after being released from Guantanamo Bay as part of a prisoner exchange.

In the footage, released by nunn.asia, a group of men wearing traditional Muslim dress gather on a roadside in what is said to be Qatar. The five men, who were switched for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, were to be sent to Qatar where they will remain for at least a year.

When the former prisoners – it’s not clear if all of them are present or just a few – pull up in a convoy of black SUVs, they receive a warm reception, with lots of hugs from the awaiting, clearly jubilant, supporters.

There is no American presence in sight. (read more)

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