The WaPo is at it again, publishing a BS story and trying to pass it off as fact. They claimed that Trump paid North Korea 2 million dollars in order to get Otto Warmbier released from that country. Warmbier died just days after being brought home.
The President quickly and emphatically denied any such deal was made and that he paid North Korea nothing. This is why I never believe a single word coming from the WaPo, including “the” and “a’. The WaPo claimed that North Korea wanted to be reimbursed for Warmbier’s medical bills before releasing him.
That makes no sense because if they had to keep him, it would cost them even more money.
The report did not indicate if the U.S. actually ended up paying the $2 million, and Trump denied doing so in a tweet Friday.
“No money was paid to North Korea for Otto Warmbier, not two Million Dollars, not anything else,” Trump wrote.
The president also took a shot at the Obama administration for its hostage deals with Iran. The U.S. sent $400 million in payment to Iran in January 2016 around the same time that four hostages were released. Shortly after the first shipment of money, the U.S. gave Iran another $1.3 billion, but the Obama administration contended that the money was all a part of an old failed arms deal.
“This is not the Obama administration that paid $1.8 billion Dollars for four hostages, or gave five terroist [sic] hostages plus, who soon went back to battle, for traitor Sgt. Bergdahl,” Trump added.
Warmbier was on a trip to North Korea in January 2016 when he was accused of stealing a propaganda poster and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. The Trump administration was able to secure Warmbier’s release in June 2017, however, the University of Virginia student was comatose and showed signs of severe physical abuse. He died a week after returning home.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders also responded to the Post’s report on Thursday, stating, “We do not comment on hostage negotiations, which is why they have been so successful during this administration.”