Bergdahl Swap Was Illegal: Gao - Hispanicbusiness.com

The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office says the Defense Department's failure to notify the relevant congressional committees at least 30 days in advance of the exchange broke the law. The GAO also says the Pentagon's use of funds to conduct the transfer, when no money was available, was a violation of the Antideficiency Act which bars spending by agencies above the amount of money that Congress has obligated. In May, five senior Taliban were released from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in exchange for Bergdahl, who had disappeared in 2009. Under exchange terms, the five Taliban are to remain in Qatar for a year. ----- Original headline: GAO: Pentagon violated law with Bergdahl swap For more stories covering politics, please see HispanicBusiness' Politics Channel Source: Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.