A defiant Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel took hits from both sides of the aisle Wednesday for failing to notify Congress of the controversial swap of five Taliban prisoners at Guantanamo Bay for POW Bowe Bergdahl.
Offering up the first congressional testimony on the secret May 29 prisoner exchange, Hagel fervently denied claims by House members that the Obama administration negotiated with terrorists for the release of the Army sergeant, who has been accused of deserting his post.
“It’s wrong. The law is the law,” Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the ranking Democrat on the panel, told Hagel during the Armed Services Committee hearing about failing to tell Congress of the swap in advance.
A new federal law requires that the president provide 30 days’ notice to congressional leaders of plans to release prisoners from Gitmo.
Committee chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) called the agreement “deeply troubling” and triggered by “unprecedented negotiations with terrorists.”
Hagel at one point responded, “We could have done a better job of keeping you informed” but then staunchly defended the secrecy because of the “extraordinary” circumstances surrounding the delicate negotiations with Qatar — which acted as an intermediary — and the Taliban to bring the Idaho native home.
“We were told by the Qataris that a leak would end the negotiations for Bergdahl’s release,” Hagel said.
He noted that the military rescuers were only given one hour’s notice of the precise location of where to pick up Bergdahl.
Under the agreement, the freed Taliban prisoners will reside in Qatar for a year. Hagel said safety measures put into the agreement with Qatar “mitigates risk” that the detainees will rejoin the battlefield — though four of the five have voiced interest in doing so.
“These five are not a threat to the homeland,” he insisted in exchanges with committee members who said the Taliban members provided safe haven for al Qaeda’s 9/11 plotters.
Hagel insisted that the US government did not negotiate with terrorists for Bergdahl’s release — though he admitted that the soldier at various times over five years was held in captivity by the Haqqani terrorist network.
“It was a tough call. I supported it. I stand by it,” Hagel said of the swap.
Meanwhile Hagel said there will be an Army probe of Bergdhal’s actions that led to his disappearance.