The Rt. Hon. Madam Feinstein is never amused when her senatorial prerogatives are not scrupulously observed. She is mildly admonishing the White House for its lapse in the release of Bowe Bergdahl and speculating as to their motivations. An official apology doesn't seem to have fully mollified her ruffled feathers.
Feinstein says White House didn’t notify Congress on prisoner exchange
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, told reporters Tuesday that she got a call from the White House apologizing for not letting Congress know about its exchange of Taliban prisoners for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, a prisoner of Afghan rebels since 2009.
“It’s very disappointing that there was not a level of trust to justify alerting us to that,” Feinstein said. “I had a call from the White House last night, from (Deputy National Security Adviser) Tony Blinken, apologizing for it.”
The Senator often finds herself disappointed and/or disturbed. Stronger emotions would probably be unseemly.
Feinstein said a prisoner swap was last discussed with lawmakers in 2011. She said Republican opposition to a swap may have contributed to the administration’s lack of notice, adding, “The White House is pretty unilateral about what they want to do when they want to do it.”
[snif]