Mike Pence said Friday that while President Obama might claim otherwise, the whole world knows that a $400 million payment to Iran in January as American hostages were being released was a “ransom”.
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Iranian television has broadcast what some say is purported footage of the $400 million pallets of cash that officials claim was part of the “expensive price” paid by the Obama administration to free several US hostages.
US President Barack Obama said on Thursday it “was not a secret” that a recent Dollars 400 million payment made to Iran actually belonged to that nation.
The funds were part of a trust fund Iran used before its 1979 Islamic Revolution to buy US military equipment that was tied up for decades in litigation at the tribunal.
Trump reacted by claiming to have seen a “top secret” video that showed the transfer of money.
In fact, it showed the recently released American prisoners as they were arriving in Switzerland.
Iran, he said during the Florida rally, ‘have a flawless tape done by, obviously, a government camera, and the tape is of the people taking the money off the plane, right? An arms deal already signed between the U.S. and Iran failed due to 1979 Islamic Revolution and the closing of U.S. Embassy in Tehran shortly afterward, according to CNN. “Maybe because it kind of feels like some kind of spy novel or you know crime novel because cash was exchanged”, he said. The video narration claims that the cash was linked with the release.
The story of the seemingly cloak and dagger money transfer in an unmarked plane was broken this week by the Wall Street Journal.
“It was the assessment of our lawyers that there was significant litigation risk and we could end up costing ourselves billions”, Obama said. A video showing the plane carrying the Americans in Geneva has played repeatedly on cable news.
“That means in order to embarrass us further Iran sent us the tapes”, Trump said. There were reports that the USA sent over palettes of cash to Iran, specifically in Tehran on the same day United States prisoners were sent home.
Asked if he thinks Trump is confused, Kaine said: “I absolutely think he’s confused”.
The comments from Trump come only days after the Republican presidential nominee received clearance to view classified intelligence briefings.
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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds a press conference at Trump National Doral on July 27, 2016, in Doral, Florida. Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson said on CNN she misspoke when she blamed Obama for the 2004 death of the Muslim-American soldier, Humayun Khan, during the Iraq war.
