If a senator is going to suggest the nation’s first African-American president is “acting like the drug dealer in chief”, he should at least try to have the criticism make sense.
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Kirk objected to the United States giving Iran ‘clean packs of money.’ Calling the Islamic republic a ‘state sponsor of terror’.
“Those 500-euro notes will pop up across the Middle East”, he added, referring to the currency in which the money was paid because United States law makes it illegal to have transactions with Iran in U.S. dollars. Mark Kirk “unhinged” over the Republican’s comparison of President Barack Obama to “drug dealer in chief” for a $400 million payment made to Iran as us hostages were released. The White House and State Department have denied Republicans’ claims that the transaction served as a ransom payment, claiming that the timing was coincidental.
Kirk was responding to reports that the administration paid $400 million in cash to Iran in January as Iran released Americans that had been held as prisoners.
“That’s correct”, Kirby revealed.
Mark Kirk (right) and Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.
Kirk is in a tight race for re-election against Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, whose campaign issued a statement Monday calling the comments out of line. The senator later apologized and said his anger over the Iran deal got him “too carried away”. Richard Burr (R-NC) said Obama put the US and her allies at risk.
Kirk charged the president’s actions were reckless, but duckworth’s allies say the same about Kirk’s language.
The Obama administration has vehemently rejected the charge, saying only that the USA government delayed the payment until after the American prisoners were released in order to maintain leverage over Iran. In a statement sent to ThinkProgress, Duckworth campaign spokesman Matt McGrath characterized Kirk’s comments as “misguided and deeply offensive, and beneath the dignity of the office he holds”. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) as “a bro with no ho… that’s what we’d say on the South Side”.
The senator has a penchant for stirring controversy with his remarks, once telling a newspaper people drive faster through black neighborhoods.
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‘The decision sets an bad and unsafe worldwide standard that should be investigated and the lack of transparency from the Administration clearly indicated that they knew their actions were not above board, ‘ Artl added.
