GAO: Bergdahl Swap For Five Taliban Leaders Violated U.S. Law

Photo: U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Berghdal is pictured in this undated handout photo provided by the U.S. Army and received by Reuters on May 31, 2014. Credit: Reuters/U.S. Army/Handout via Reuters

U.S. Watchdog Finds Pentagon Broke Law In Bergdahl Transfer -- Reuters

(Reuters) - The Defense Department violated U.S. law by failing to alert Congress before releasing five Taliban members held at Guantanamo Bay military prison in exchange for a captured U.S. soldier, a government watchdog agency said on Thursday.

The Government Accountability Office said the Pentagon broke the law by using money appropriated by Congress to carry out the transfer of Guantanamo prisoners without giving lawmakers the required 30-day notice.

"In addition, because DoD (the Department of Defense) used appropriated funds to carry out the transfer when no money was available for that purpose, DoD violated the Antideficiency Act" barring agencies from spending more than authorized, the GAO said in a letter posted on its website.

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Update: Bergdahl swap violated law, legal opinion says -- USA Today

My Comment: The above Reuters post blames the Pentagon for violating the law .... but we all know that it was the White House (i.e. President Obama) who is the one who should be blamed for violating this law.