Bowe Bergdahl Swap: Obama Breaks Law

Of course, I'm glad that U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl has been released and is safe.

What about the terms of the deal, the release of five Taliban Gitmo detainees in the swap? What about Obama breaking the law and the failure to notify Congress?

From the Washington Post:

Amid jubilation Saturday over the release of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl from captivity by the Taliban, senior Republicans on Capitol Hill said they were troubled by the means by which it was accomplished, which was a deal to release five Afghan detainees from the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Top Republicans on the Senate and House armed services committees went so far as to accuse President Obama of having broken the law, which requires the administration to notify Congress before any transfers from Guantanamo are carried out.

“Trading five senior Taliban leaders from detention in Guantanamo Bay for Bergdahl’s release may have consequences for the rest of our forces and all Americans. Our terrorist adversaries now have a strong incentive to capture Americans. That incentive will put our forces in Afghanistan and around the world at even greater risk,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. McKeon (R-Calif.) and the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, James M. Inhofe (Okla.), said in a joint statement.

Lawmakers were not notified of the Guantanamo detainees’ transfer until after it occurred.

The law requires the defense secretary to notify relevant congressional committees at least 30 days before making any transfers of prisoners, to explain the reason and to provide assurances that those released would not be in a position to reengage in activities that could threaten the United States or its interests.

...A senior administration official, agreeing to speak on the condition of anonymity to explain the timing of the congressional notification, acknowledged that the law was not followed. When he signed the law last year, Obama issued a signing statement contending that the notification requirement was an unconstitutional infringement on his powers as commander in chief and that he therefore could override it.

The law was dismissed by the Obama administration. There's a shocker.

Why notify Congress? Obama has made Congress a nonentity.

Congress? What Congress? Constitution? What Constitution? Law? Pishposh.

Obama is the supreme ruler. Congress and the Constitution are annoyances to him. They are to be ignored. And he does exactly that with great conviction.

If he wants to negotiate with terrorists, he'll do it.

Here's video of Obama's statement on the release of Sgt. Bergdahl:

OBAMA: And he wasn't forgotten by his country, because the United States of America does not, ever, leave our men and women in uniform behind.

Bergdahl wasn't forgotten by his country. Our military and our veterans aren't forgotten. However, Obama has made a habit of leaving our men and women behind. (Is that his "lead from behind" strategy?)

If they're on a VA wait list, Obama leaves them behind and dawdles around.

If they're Americans serving at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and get killed by terrorists, Obama makes up stories about a protest due to an online video being the cause.

Obama most definitely does leave our men and women behind.