ACLJ Submits FOIA Investigating $6 Billion Biden Began Releasing to Iran

By 

Jordan Sekulow

|
April 30

4 min read

Middle East

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In a post-9/11 world, the expression “if you see something, say something” has become well-known to Americans. Except, it seems to the Biden Administration, particularly when it comes to the world’s number one state sponsor of terrorism, Iran.

The rest of us have seen Iran call for the destruction of Israel. We’ve seen Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) paint “Death to Israel” in Hebrew along the side of its ballistic missiles. We’ve seen Iranian rockets fired at Israel from Gaza. We’ve even reported on an American contractor who was killed by an Iranian drone strike. Even back when Biden was Vice President under Obama, Iran called Israel a “cancerous tumor.” We’ve seen all of these dangerous red flags and more. President Biden saw them as well, and yet what did he say? “Here’s $6 billion for you, Iran.”

And what happened next? Hamas committed a barbaric, multi-tiered attack on Israel, with a well-supplied arsenal, murdering and kidnapping innocent Israelis, Americans, and others. And then Iran fired hundreds of suicide drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles directly at Israel.

We can’t watch Biden’s incompetence and placating of a dangerous enemy anymore. The ACLJ just began an investigation into Biden’s State Department, filing a critical Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request regarding its prisoner swap deal with Iran and the enforcement of sanctions. As part of this prisoner swap agreement, $6 billion held by South Korea was going to be released to Iran, and the government of Qatar would ensure its use for humanitarian purposes.

The American and Iranian prisoners were exchanged in September 2023, but thankfully, the U.S. and Qatar froze the money after October 7 over concerns about Iranian support of Hamas.

Furthermore, lax U.S. enforcement of sanctions against Iran, even after the October attacks, has enabled Iran to increase its oil production with a resultant increase in money for the leading state sponsor of terror.

We spell out, in greater detail, the complicated, complete background in our FOIA Request and demand the Biden Administration provide the following:

  1. The records of the above-referenced agreement outlining the prisoner swap and the Qatar $6 billion, however titled.

  2. All records, communications or briefings created, generated, forwarded, transmitted, or sent by Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counter Threat Finance and Sanctions, Erik Woodhouse referencing (1) Hamas and Iran, or, (2) Houthis and Iran, or (3) Iran, China, and oil.

  3. All records, communications or briefings created, generated, forwarded, transmitted, sent, shared, saved, received, or reviewed by Ramin Toloui, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs concerning the Qatar $6 billion.

  4. All records, communications or briefings created, generated, forwarded, transmitted, sent, shared, saved, received, or reviewed by Abram Paley, Deputy Special Envoy for Iran about the Qatar $6 billion.

  5. All records of communication between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Assistant Secretary Ramin Toloui or Special Envoy Abram Paley concerning Iran.

  6. All records in possession of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Assistant Secretary Ramin Toloui or Special Envoy Abram Paley concerning Israel and the Qatar $6 billion.

The State Department is now legally required to find and produce those records for us. If they do not comply with their legal deadline to respond to our FOIA request by late May or early June, we’ll go to federal court – like we have many times before – to obtain these records. The American people deserve to know.

Sadly, this isn’t even the first time Biden has decided to send our tax dollars to terrorists. As we told you, early in his Administration, Biden agreed to send $125 million to the Palestinian Authority, an organization that uses our money to incentivize terrorists to murder Israelis and Americans. Now he wants to give Iran $6 billion? Let’s also remember that not so very long ago, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, bragged that Iran now has the capability to create a nuclear weapon. Why on earth anyone would provide them money for production capital, especially with all this evidence of the threat Iran poses not just to Israel but also the entire world, is a mystery.

But it’s one we intend to solve. Especially the “why.” Why has the enforcement of sanctions on Iran been so lax? Why has the Biden Administration been so keen to cut a deal with Iran, even attempting to negotiate a new nuclear deal with them? Why is he willing to betray Israel, our greatest ally in the Middle East?

If the Biden Administration refuses to comply (as they almost always do with our FOIAs), then we will once again take the Administration to court. We will get the details of the agreement for the $6 billion and why sanctions enforcement has been so lax.

We will keep you posted.