Hillary Clinton referred to the new report this week that the Obama administration airlifted $400 million to the Iranian government in Swiss francs and euros as "old news," saying the White House has addressed the matter.
Clinton’s comments stand in contrast to what many in Congress are saying, that the administration left them completely in the dark on the money transfer, as reported by the Washington Free Beacon on Thursday.
When asked by a reporter for her view of the Iranian money shipment, Clinton skipped over many of the recent revelations about the transfer.
"Well, the White House has addressed this, and I think actually, this is kind of old news," Clinton said. "It was first reported about seven or eight months ago as I recall."
Reports from January, when the money transfer was made, mainly focused on the ruling by the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal at the Hague and the U.S. government’s intention to pay a large sum to settle a decades-old claim dating back before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
New details revealed this week have raised questions about whether the $400 million was a ransom payment for Americans being held captive by Iran. The payment was made at the same time that Americans detained in Iran were released. The United States is set to pay a total of $1.7 billion to the Iranian regime.
The Free Beacon’s report from Thursday shows that many congressional inquiries sent by lawmakers for information on the $1.7 billion were stonewalled by the State Department and other administration officials, which could undercut Clinton’s claim that this story was already discussed in full seven months ago.