Pompeo repeats ‘zombie’ claim that Obama gave Iran $150 billion
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Pompeo repeats ‘zombie’ claim that Obama gave Iran $150 billion
Washington Post-Sept 21 2021
“The folks that are around President Biden today in his White House talking about foreign policy are the same leaders — a fellow named Brett McGurk sent $150 billion, pallets of cash, to the Iranians, who are hosting the senior al-Qaeda leadership in Tehran today.”
— Former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, in an interview on Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” Sept. 19
At the Fact Checker, we are always dismayed when we encounter what we call a “zombie” claim — a falsehood that persists no matter how often we debunk it.
But it’s especially dismaying when a former secretary of state repeats this claim. Pompeo obviously spent too much time listening to his former boss, President Donald Trump, who often said a version of this claim at his campaign rallies. But policy details were never Trump’s expertise. As a former chief U.S. diplomat, Pompeo should know better. Instead, he has uttered a mishmash that is especially misleading.
Toward the end of the Obama administration, there were two deals with Iran that riled critics of the regime.
One was an arrangement to settle an outstanding claim by Iran, valued at $1.7 billion, including interest. The money arrived on jumbo jets in cash — euros, Swiss francs, and other currencies — just as six American detainees, including The Washington Post’s Jason Rezaian, were released.
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