The Defense Department broke the law when it transferred five Taliban detainees from the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Qatar in exchange for former prisoner of war Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the Government Accountability Office said Thursday. In a seven-page opinion, the GAO said a provision of the 2014 Defense Appropriations Act bars defense officials from using taxpayer funds to transfer any prisoner from Guantanamo unless the secretary of defense gives Congress at least 30 days’ advance notice. The Pentagon made the transfer May 31. In response to the GAO legal opinion, defense officials acknowledged that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel sent written and telephonic notice to congressional leaders on May 31 and June 1 and 2. Also, because appropriated funds were used to carry out the transfer when no money was expressly available for that purpose, the legal opinion said DoD violated the Antideficiency Act, which bars federal agencies from incurring obligations that exceed an amount approved by Congress in an appropriation. The Pentagon spent just under $1 million on the prisoner exchange, according to the GAO. ~Anastasia
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 23:28:57 +0000
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