Report: White House kept mum on prisoner swap because of Taliban death threat

Obama administration officials told Congress that it kept them in the dark about the Bowe Bergdahl prisoner swap because the Taliban threatened to kill him if news of the deal leaked before it took place, according to the Associated Press. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said earlier this week that "a question about his safety" spurred the decision to make the deal.

That said, the report should be taken with a grain of salt. The administration has come under fire for not notifying Congress ahead of time about the swap, and it would understandably want to put the most favorable retroactive spin on its handling of the situation.

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