Inhofe Statement on Illegal Taliban Prisoner Exchange

Press Release

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), today released the following statement in response to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that the release of five Taliban terrorists from the detention center at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay violated the 2014 Defense Appropriations Act and the Antideficiency Act, and cost U.S. taxpayers nearly $1 million:

"As I said repeatedly at the time, the President's action was a direct and clear violation of the law.

"What is most egregious is that the law was specifically written so that Congress could take action that would possibly overrule the President's action if Congress disagreed with any transfer of Guantanamo detainees. The President not only violated the law he violated the intent of the founding fathers to have three co-equal branches of government, and increased the threat to the United States and our allies.

"As the time line to full release of the five Taliban members continues to tick away and the American people continue to disagree with the release of these terrorists, I can only hope the President does not make the same mistake in Afghanistan as he made in Iraq. Unfortunately the release of these five only reaffirms my long held concern that the President appears to be making the same strategic mistake again."

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