does not have diplomatic relations with iran. critics are saying this amounts to ransom and it has emboldened the iranian regime to take more americans hostage later this year, trish. >> thank you so much. good to see you, james. state department spokesperson kirby putting it this way during an interview earlier today. watch. >> look, you can believe us who've talked about this on camera and on the record since january, or you can believe an unnamed anonymous defense official from iran. you choose who you're going to believe to be more credible. >> let's get reaction right now from former u.s. ambassador to the u.n. john bolten. ambassador, welcome. how would you characterize this? do you see it as ransom? >> of course it was. this deal together with the nuclear deal was all part of the same package. and the white house spokesman all but admitted it in the passage you just broadcast saying they made a strategic decision to try and wrap everything up together. and they did. >> they did it all together. i look at it and say how doe

the it is cash payment to iran. we'll ask senator tom cotton, energy is a complex challenge. people want power. >>> questions about the it is cash payment to iran. we'll ask senator tom cotton, and power plants account for more than a third of energy-related carbon emissions. the challenge is to capture the emissions before they're released into the atmosphere. more affordable so it can reduce emissions around the world. that's what we're working on right now. ?? >>> a look outside the belt way at martha's vineyard where president obama is spending his final summer vacation as commander in now to the $400 million cash payment to iran, which the administration maintains was not ransom, even though the exchange coincided with tehran's release of those four american hostages. let's bring in senator tom cotton a member of the armed services committee and fierce critic of president obama's nuclear deal. senator, we've known since the formal announcement of the iran deal last january and release of million as settlement o

capital of iran.here are neighborhoods in rome this feels a lot like. after all this time, i finally had my chance to see a country i'd heard so much about. the weather's nice too. i don't know what i was expecting, but it's nice. a big blank spot on nearly every traveler's resume. merci. delicious! thank you. ♪ ♪ >> arianne: once upon a time there was an ancient kingdom where they found a lot of magical black stuff under the ground. but, two other kingdoms had the key to the magical black stuff, and when they wouldn't share, the people of the ancient kingdom got mad. they voted and their leader said, "the magical black stuff is ours to keep." but, the other kingdoms were afraid of losing all of the magical black stuff so they gave money to some bad men to get rid of the leader. they put back in power another leader and they gave him money, too! to some he was a good king, but to others he could be very cruel. after many years the people of the kingdom got mad, this time even madder, so they scared th

since the international community worked together to impose sanctions on iran, on iran because of their nuclear program, their economy suffered. so it makes sense that when iran got revenue, as a result of the iranian agreement, for example, the nuclear agreement, for example, they used that money to prop up their currency. that had been significantly devalued by the sanctions regime. we also know that when iran was subject to all these sanctions, they were not able to finance infrastructure improvements. their infrastructure was crumbling. we know they used revenue from sanctions relief, to start investing in infrastructure. we also know that they had significant debts they were unable to pay. they were eager to repay those debts. frankly their creditors were eager to collect. >> specifically how, that specific pile of cash, literally was used? do you know -- that money was spent by the iranians? >> the, well, first of all it is iranian money. what is true from all of the money that iran received since january, including from sanctions relief which actually we know is more than $400 bi

do you see any change in iran, how it's acting result of this iran deal? >> well, first of all, bret, the day began with a complete falsehood being tweeted out by the trump campaign. donald trump tried to suggest that hillary clinton was involved in this $400 million payment to iran. of course, independent fact checkers verified that happened -- that transaction took place a year after she departed. >> so she doesn't support that? >> i'm not saying that. >> why would you say she wasn't part of it? >> during the course of -- >> she supported the iran deal. >> she absolutely did. >> so the administration is saying that's part of this. >> actually, i think this was negotiated separately from the iran nuclear agreement that's what the white house explained today. this payment was the settlement that dates back to 1979 -- >> so she supports it in other words? >> i think that she -- that the white house has fully explained this was a matter of settling an outstanding claim. in fact, the $400 million represents -- >> i know what the white house said. eye asking w

iran will be returned its own funds, including appropriate interest, but much less than the amount iranght. >> i understand the point you made in your first answer. we're talking about $400 million in cash, we're talked about an unmarked plane, we're talking about the hostages waiting on the tarmac until the plane landed. but you certainly would agree that the administration did not keep this payment, maybe the nature of it, was they didn't keep the payment secret. >> well, they didn't keep the nature of it -- and when you give $400 million in straight cash, in euro notes, a note notoriously known for drug running, so much so that the european union is taking it out of circulation, that's an important fact for the american people to know. but i said at the time in january paying them $1.7 billion, not money that they deserve or money that they had a right to, on the very weekend that four americans were released from captivity and the nuclear deal was implemented, was a ransom payment. and that would lead to the detention of more hostages in iran, which is exactly what has happened in t

-- we decide to change iran's title from persia to iran.heselso had some for not like british influence in the middle east. they were formally allied with not to germany, but the allies did invade iran and did overthrow the shah and insult his son -- install his son as the last shah in 1979 -- last shah in 1979. navy membersr of or held for less than 24 hours in iranian waters but why did the iranian government to that question mark -- government do that? guest: they wanted to show it as force, to show that they are relevant after the nuclear agreement. the hostage-taking was very televised in iran, very public, and the iranian government did try to humiliate the sailors from propaganda points. but because the u.s. and iran have established close diplomatic relations of the highest level and the u.s. secretary of state and foreign minister, this book about the issue. to get thes able release of the sailors almost immediately. host: so if there was not agreement on other issues, potentially, they would have kept them longer? years ago, briti

bev to stands up to iran, chris.'ve introduced legislation with several calling the counter-iranian threat act, that we need to act immediately after we go back in session -- >> i want to get to the larger question of iran. one of the concern is iran used this as, to support terrorism, but cia director john brennan said that that's not true. let's listen to director bren n brennan. >> the money, the revenue flowing into iran is being used to support its currency, to provide, you know, monies to the department and agencies to build up infrastructure. >> is director brennan misleading the american people, senator? >> well, when you give iran more than $100 billion, there's no doubt some of that money may go into domestic purposes. a lot of the support for terrorism groups like hezbollah may not require that much money. even white house officials have said that some of this money likely ended up in the hands of terrorist organizations or revolutionary guard corps, as president obama's director of and commander in the mi

the it is cash payment to iran. we'll ask senator tom cotton, energy is a complex challenge. people want power. >>> questions about the it is cash payment to iran. we'll ask senator tom cotton, and power plants account for more than a third of energy-related carbon emissions. exxonmobil is a leader in carbon capture. our team is working to make this technology better, more affordable so it can reduce emissions around the world. that's what we're working on right now. ?? i'm hillary clinton and i approve this message. letterman:"has a line of clothing, now where were these made?" trump: "these were made, i don't know where they're made. but they were made someplace. but they're great. it's ties, shirts, cufflinks, everything sold at macy's and they're doing great.? letterman: ?where are the shirts made?? off-camera voice: ?bangladesh.? letterman: ?bangladesh.? trump: ?well, it's good. we employ people in bangladesh." letterman: ?ties? where are the ties made?" they have to work, too. are made in where? china? off-cam

do you see any change in iran, how it's acting result of this iran deal? >> well, first of all, bret, the day began with a complete falsehood being tweeted out by the trump campaign. donald trump tried to suggest that hillary clinton was involved in this $400 million payment to iran. of course, independent fact checkers verified that happened -- that transaction took place a year after she departed. >> so she doesn't support that? >> i'm not saying that. >> why would you say she wasn't part of it? >> during the course of -- >> she supported the iran deal. >> she absolutely did. >> so the administration is saying that's part of this. >> actually, i think this was negotiated separately from the iran nuclear agreement that's what the white house explained today. this payment was the settlement that dates back to 1979 -- >> so she supports it in other words? >> i think that she -- that the white house has fully explained this was a matter of settling an outstanding claim. in fact, the $400 million represents -- >> i know what the white house said. eye asking w

in terms of the iran nuke deal, iran violated it the day they signed it and continue to this day. iran tries to dominate the middle east. russia goes along with it. we're seen as a non-player, pitifully weak. >> the problem is we reward them for bad behavior. our u.s. sailors were humiliated, literally -- of course, john kerry was talking about how well they were treated before we saw the tapes. right after this, we gave them all the money. >> well, some of these confrontations -- and we don't know the latest one, you know, involving some small boats going to our big fighter vessels. got to question the wisdom of that on the iranians' part, or even if they were rogue forces. points to me why the nuclear deal was a good one. it's an unstable region, and we don't want anybody over there having access to nuclear weapons. >> right. >> i think -- go ahead. >> i wouldn't say after 300 of these confrontations in 2015 and 250 so far, that these are rogue operations. seems to be a concerted effort on the part of the iranian government. plus ty're wort -- but not a friend of the u.s., russi

but iran does. why hasn't president obama with all his dealings with iran figured out how to put pressure on iran to at least tell the levinson family, is he dead or alive? i don't buy that it's an impossible task to get that information for the family out of iran. i just don't see the commitment. now administration claims that finding bob levinson is a high priority but it can't be that high 7 1/2 years into obama's presidency. when it comes to bob levinson, we are exactly where we were at the beginning of his presidency, nowhere. is that your definition of high priority? not mine. and that's my off the record comment tonight. results on the screen right now, should the u.s. hold off giving or returning money to countries holding americans hostages. 71% say yes hold off and balance say no. and don't forget to vote on twitter every night. that's all for now. see you again tomorrow night here at 7:00 p.m. eastern. go to my facebook page. i posted a video of prime minister netanyahu. check it out. "th

but the reality is if you look at the iran -- iran spend a lot of money supporting terrorist groups around the world. the largest state sponsor of international terrorist movement, and before that money was delivered, before the iran nuclear deal, one of the terrorists outposts, hamas and hezbollah -- the money was drying up. they were not getting money from iran. in the last month or so it shows they have in fact the money flow , the spigot has been turned on there there is a relationship between the iran get thing mow and the terrorists get egg the money. >> i keep asking the question because it's mind boggling how on earth $400 million can just be transferred like that. if you're a business, you're running a business, and you're accountable to shareholders you got account for every single penny. how is it that the u.s. government can suddenly have $400 million just evaporate? >> half a billion dollars. the tragedy is that whoever's budget it came out of, the pentagon has not had a full audit in years. so, who knows where the money came from. that's why congress should demand an answer.

was it shipped to iran, the remaining $1.3 billion? they won't answer and from the very start when the announcement was made in january the timing of this was did the money, were they waiting for cash to arrive and then let the americans leave the country? was it tied in some way? they are not answering that question. trish: some of your sources in the intelligence community are saying the uranian's wanted some kind of payment to show that they got something? >> there is so much distrust, the uranian seized on the issue of $400 million which it was there money, the shaw's government did distribute that money in 1979. for them it was the return of that money was some sort of goodwill and all these other pieces would move forward is how it was described to me. trish: it is hard to look at how this all unfolded and not question the timing of it, whether this was ransom. what is your gut reaction? >> i congratulate jay on staying with his story and trying to figure out what happened here. we still don't know. the administration insists, yo

to iran. you know, we cannot have four more years accommodating and apologizing to our enemies or aban dong our friends. america needs to be strong for the world to be safe and donald trump will lead point world stage from strength. liz: chief washington course end ijams rosen is in washington with more. reporter: the funds were drawn from european banks and placed on a cargo plane it was the first insmallment of $1.7 billion to ruin. the four prisoners freed. the obama administration says the payment traces back to an arms deal the u.s. signed with iran shortly before the fall of the shah in 1978-1979. u.s. officials say iran's claims with respect to that deal have been winding their way through the international courts at the hague and u.s. stood to lose $10 million. the white house claims it was co-incidental with the release of the hostages. they wore conducted by different teams and technical experts involved in these investigation for many years. paying ransom to kidnappers puts american

directh iran's assistance. in fact, we have seen this continually, predominantly target moderate syrian operation forces. it is unfortunate. makes morenly difficult what was already a complex situation. it pushes us farther away from what we say we are trying to pursue, a credible nationwide hostilities and a political process in geneva that leads to a peaceful transition. what is clear is the extent to which they are using iran. we have seen varying reports. we just don't know at this point. i can confirm secretary kerry did speak to foreign minister .ever of -- lavrov did you get any answer to these questions? did he explain why they are using the military? mr. toner: it did,. the call just concluded before i came up here. it did,. it was raised by the russian side. secretary kerry stated our concerns. u.n. --year when the the iran nuclear agreement was signed there was specific language that carried over from previous resolutions about the use of iranian territory, airspace for combat aircraft. do you view t

administration sending 400 million bucks in cash to iran, the exact same day iran agrees to release american hostages might look like ransom. i'm trish regan, welcome, everyone, to "the intelligence report." trish: sure does look like ransom, right? the white house is sticking to its guns. watch. >> isn't it essentially a ransom payment then even if the u.s. doesn't view it that way. >> no, it is not a ransom payment. trish: just coincidence, right? meanwhile hillary clinton is trying to back away from the story. watch her here. >> wealth white house has addressed this i think actually this is kind of old news. trish: pat buchanan told me yesterday, president reagan was forced to testify for less. what happened to our country when a secretary of state can email classify information on her own server and pretend she didn't. and our own president can secretly ship $400 million in cash to iran and pretend it is all just aboveboard? meanwhile, pastor syed abedini, one of the four american hostages in freed in january, will be joining me here in a few short minutes to share the horrifyin

iran will be returned its own funds including the appropriate interest but much less the iran sum. >>e ran over nukes all a coincide e coincidence. my guest who you will meet is momentarily laughing, james, these are a lot of coincidences. >> yes, if only we had a artful look at this plane touching down in iran surrounding iran's release of four american hostages on january 17th. one receiving medical germany, the pastor, former u.s. marine and a man, but the u.s. government says this actually traces back to the late 1970s in response to that hostage deal iran's claim to that money has been snaking its way through u.s. international courts. and the payment arranged in january on or about the very day our hostages were freed mark the first installment including interest of $1.7 billion. the white house claims they took place on separate tracks and was not used for other "nefarious activities". >> we knew they used revenue to start investing in infrastructure, and they had debts to pay and frankly their collectors were eager to collect. >> it occurred exactly as the nuclear deal was bei

and depending the iran nuclear deal.e went point by point and made his case. you heard him say that. >> i heard him say that's old news which is a very clinton-esque tactic when you're caught doing something. oh, no, we've reported that at the time. we've gone down that route before with bill clinton. we need to have secretary kerry and lou go down to the hill and talk to the senators and the house and make sure that they have answered all these questions and this was not ransom money. i think it also raises the question of $1.7 billion payment transfer to iran in general. i don't think the american people have focused on how much money we will be paying iran as part of this nuclear deal. it opens up the whole question about the nuclear treaty with iran which hillary clinton has embraced and donald trump is saying he's going to rip it to shreds and start all over. the president has opened up a condition of words that be american people will want know about far beyond the 400 million in cash. >> in january when the deal w

what we called the sleeping giants, iran plays a key role.uring the sanctions, production dropped to about 2.5 billion barrels per day. in the last half year since the sanctions have been lifted, the country has come back. the most recent numbers were around 3.5 million barrels. if you look at reserve production ratios typical for the region, iran has tremendous potential. it's cheap oil, and it could go up to 8 million barrels per day. the question is, how quickly can it go from here? for it to go higher than it is now, it needs a lot of investment in its infrastructure. oil contracts pass a key hurdle. what is the timeframe we are looking at? anothernk we can expect 4.3 million barrels per day coming into the equation until the end of the year. that would bring iran back to where it was before sanctions. that will take years. it will require massive foreign investment. the numbers we have seen are in the vicinity of $100 billion-plus. to get all of that money into the crown, that will take time. yousef: staying with the supply side, what el

explain it was irans money. back in 1970s, they concluded an armed purchase deal and sent $400 million here and then fell. they took 52 americans hostage and we froze the assets. we have been working out with iran and they have been suing the court ever sense. they said that they feared a international ruling, so they concluded for 1.7 balance and the 400 million was the first installment and it arrived on the day that the hostages were set free and they say that was a coincidence. >> i'm going call bs on that. i can't believe that they're trying to convince the american public that it was a convention. they said that it was put away in 1979 and the very same day and hours of it being transferred via airplane stacked cash. if you don't want to transfer money, i mean we're in the electronic age, go ahead and send them euros. this is a we will get the money to you real fast and get the guys back and call it a day. it's a kin to have a gun fight with somebody. however, most important thing in this whole thing happe

wired $1.3 billion in interest payments to iran and 13 separate wire payments after getting iran $400 million in cash. would have any repercussions for president obama or hillary clinto from resort workers sadly no. it's unfathomable to me how they get away with the endless corruption and betrayal while congress sits i'd idly by. >> tracy, no: the country is so divided no matter what the scandal. we are all going to line up to support our party. and jackie mcmillen tatum, this is so shady, i can't even believe this type of thing could happen. that is a little bit from you. that's it from "special report," fair, balanced and unafraid. martha mccallum is in for greta. she goes "on the record" right now. "special report" online >> it is thursday august 25th. the death toll rises from the rubble. >> a little girl found alive after being buried after 17 hours. the devastating before and after pictures and the new threat of the earthquake. >> just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, the chances of an october surprise just got real for healthcare. he's not done with the document dump

and iran on this. leave any open wounds when it comes to iran's to mastic or foreign policy? >> it's difficult to say, but we are seeing right now some of the hardliners taking actions against the iranian president. rouhani's policy has been about approchement with the u.s. the way it's happening right now, it's difficult to say that we've seen the number of executions going up and the number of arrests, and some analysts say that perhaps this hurt rouhanider to who will be standing for election next year in may. yousef: that's it. a busy read -- busy week ahead in the region. we will also have an interview a financial group ceo, plus the world's largest indoor theme park throws open its doors to the public in dubai. the world ofere at adventure. and of course we will be right here for the start of the trading week in the gulf sunday morning at 8:00 on uae television. do join me then. this is bloomberg. ♪ ♪ trouble, china's stabilization falters, factory output, retail sales, investment all slow. engla

wired $1.3 billion in interest payments to iran and 13 separate wire payments after getting iran $400in cash. would have any repercussions for president obama or hillary clinton from resort workers sadly no. it's unfathomable to me how they get away with the endless corruption and betrayal while congress sits i'd idly by. >> tracy, no: the country is so divided no matter what the scandal. we are all going to line up to support our party. and jackie mcmillen tatum, this is so shady, i can't even believe this type of thing could happen. that is a little bit from you. that's it from "special report," fair, balanced and unafraid. martha mccallum is in for greta. she goes "on the record" right now. "special report" online begins in four seconds. >> and it's the dog days of august and it is heating up between trump and hillary. he is on the war path today going after what he calls the most corrupt enterprise in political history. hello, there, everybody. i'm martha maccallum in tonight for greta van susteren. here is donald trump today 1 p.m. in florida. watch. >> it's impossible to tell wh

their big enemy in their mind is iran.or putin to be doing this, will be made -- making it more difficult for putin -- charlie: it will endanger your relationship with arab counties? mike: here's the point i would make -- a lot people see putin as this chess player, a great strategic center. no, he is not. he's a tactitian. charlie: it is much more of a long-term interest of the united states to have a strong relationship with the arab states. these are not the narratives -- the air state narrative, they are very different in terms of their relationship and the potential of their relationship. i'm asking how you see a relationship with iran and measure -- and i'm using this word carefully -- any equivalency in a relationship to the arab states? the president has basically been saying to the air states, you have to talk to these people. you have to find common ground otherwise we're looking at -- that is what president obama's position is as i understand it. mike: that's a great question. first of all, i would say there is

the many, many wrongs in iran.ut you can reward them for the nuclear thing which they are more or less following. punish at the same time. >> you know what, we don't have any sticks. iran has them and we're feeding them bon bones and they're 2 billion in a bank in this country supposed to go to the victim of iranian sponsored terror and they're still demanding it back. >> confiscated and -- >> they've taken three more hostages. mark my words they're going to come to the table and want that money. >> thank you, guys. >> carbshin' in over an hour fr now. what do you have? >> hi. president obama dissing donald trump in front of another world leader. should he be insulting someone who could be the next president of the united states. the message it sends to the rest of the world. plus clint eastwood is going ballistic about political correctness. the cashin' in gang will see you at 11:30. >> if you hated your cable company before, wait until you hear what they want you to pay more for now. her nurse. her personal assis

-- iran. i recognize that the details you are seeking to elicit might make for a colorful new story, but they don't change the fact. they don't change any innuendo that will be logged by critics of the deal about our intent. they will not certainly effectively convince a right or iranrun -- right-winger in looking for a propaganda victory from basically making a false claim that this is somehow a ransom payment. what i can tell you is that the united states, when we make an agreement, we live up to it. we announced the terms back in january. the reason we did was in part because we have a desire to be transparent with the american people and a desire to advocate for the fact that because of this smart agreement, the american people potentially saved billions of dollars. >> completely politically motivated? sec. earnest: again, the facts of this situation of the known for six months. you've all been reporting on it for six months. not because of some secret anonymous leak in the bowels of some

he had left his family, wife and child in iran. he got lonely and unhappy and went back, said she had been pressured by the united states. i don't think it makes a difference in terms of the future. the u.s. has extensive intelligence resources devoted to iran. one reason the u.s. was confidence in signing the nuclear deal is because they going on in the country because of spying and surveillance. >> john: i'd like to talk about russia for a moment. there's been back and forth about donald trump's position on russia. give us your take on what the u.s. relationship is with russia right now. i should also mention russia is finger in hacking scandal at the democratic committee, and what should voters think these candidates and that country. i think the obama administration is deeply frustrated. it hoped it would be able to find in russia a partner to sdofrl the nightmare war in syria. that hasn't happened. the u.s. continues in effect to leave the exit ramp open for vladimir putin to adopt more sensible policies. i think there is deep

verifiably, the nuclear weapons danger from iran. but iran is still involved in activities, it threatens our neighbors in the region. that's one of the reasons we have a big presence in that part of the world. deterring iranian aggression, countering iranian influence in the region is the other reason we have forces there. >> but you haven't seen any change from iran science the nuclear deal as far as giving money for terrorists, thumbing its nose at the world with the ballistic missile test, anything changing with iran? >> i think they continue to do things that are dangerous. that's why we need to protect ourselves. why we need missile defense. that's why we need aircraft carriers and other ships in the gulf. that's why we do all these things. >> the marines are taking a 24-hour pause, grounding essentially, because they've had some major problems. they've had a crash, one pilot was killed. should americans be worried about military aviation. >> you're talking about marine corps aviation readiness, which is an issue. it's the top p

the $400 million payment to iran is a huge deal. that $1.7 billion either has gone to or is already ending up with hezbollah or other sponsors of terrorism. the hillary clinton answer is complete baloney. here is why. she's running on her record as secretary of state. she's used the iran deal as something of an achievement. now she's saying that was done after. >> right. she was gone. >> but she used the iran deal as an achievement, a first. the iran deal was signed two years after she was gone. so now when it's blowing up in her face she's saying, i was already gone by then. you can't do both. you can't say this is my achievement then say i can't be held responsible for the fact that america -- pretty much barack obama broke the laws of america. if that money was in dollars, it would be illegal here. he side-steps american laws by giving the money to iran. >> we're going to break that down and look at the law and what it says in just a little bit, because they say of course it was a separate track with something different. quickly,

to iran, just as the country released four detained americans? the obama administration pushes back against accusations it paid a ransom. it's 5:30 here on the east coast, 2:30 a.m. out west. this is "way too early." >>> good morning, everyone. it's thursday, august 4th. i'm alex witt. donald trump has nearly drawn even in the race to raise funds against hillary clinton. trump announced yesterday they raised $82 million in july with the bulk coming in the form of small donations. 64 million of that total was raised through digital and direct mail solicitations with another 16 million coming in via fund raising efforts. in addition, the candidate himself donated $2 million to his campaign. >> the beautiful thing about the 82 million is that a lot of that money came from small donors, which republicans really don't get. they really don't get them. bernie got them, but a lot of it came from the small donors. i think it was averaging $61 a piece. and we took in $82 million. you believe this? >> i was shocked. i think it would raise 20, $21 million. i

paid $400 million to iran for four hostages. he spoke about the claims that the election is rigged. >> i don't know where to start on answering this question. of course the elections will not be rigged. what does that mean? the federal government doesn't run the election process. states and cities and communities all across the country, they're the ones who set up the voting systems and voting booths. if mr. trump is suggesting there is a conspiracy theory that is being propagated across the country including in places like texas where typically it's not democrats in charge of voting booths, that's ridiculous. >> now that $400 million cash payment the u.s. made to iran, the president says there was no ransom and no scandal there. he says his administration has been transparent all along on that. we have more from michelle kosinski. >> reporter: george and christine, this is a wide ranging press conference. the transfer of that cash to iran was going to come up. the president sounding annoyed. clearly wanted to put it to rest. li

what, what is going on between iraq and iran -- i'm sorry, iraq and iran where iran is using money to destabilize, if you will, sunnis in iraq, they're using money to bolster bashar assad who only last week used chemical weapons again in aleppo to kill his own people. all of that is being funded by a policy decision that the president really didn't have the authority to do. we had a lot of laws in place designed to limit iran and -- as long as they were a state sponsor of terror. he circumvented them. that's one of the dangers in continuing that policy. we now have in syria a situation in which we have two enemies. one, the government, which is a sh sh sh shia allawite side, and -- >> that's the big question. that's the big question. i know that you guys are going to be looking at this very closely and we really appreciate you joining us with your insight. keep us posted, please. >> sure will. thank you for having me on. >> thank you. >>> giving voters a third option. libertarian presidential nominee dp gary johnson moving up in the polls. could he be a viable alternative to hillary c

verifiably, the nuclear weapons danger from iran. but iran is still involved in activities, it threatens our neighbors in the region. that's one of the reasons we have a big presence in that part of the world. deterring iranian aggression, countering iranian influence in the region is the other reason we have forces there. >> but you haven't seen any change from iran science the nuclear deal as far as giving money for terrorists, thumbing its nose at the world with the ballistic missile test, anything changing with iran? >> i think they continue to do things that are dangerous. that's why we need to protect ourselves. why we need missile defense. that's why we need aircraft carriers and other ships in the gulf. that's why we do all these things. >> the marines are taking a 24-hour pause, grounding essentially, because they've had some major problems. they've had a crash, one pilot was killed. should americans be worried about military aviation. >> you're talking about marine corps aviation readiness, which is an issue. it's the top p

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>> i supported president obama's deal with iran.close call and there are upsides to it and down sides. he was able to do is stop iran and the growth towards the nuclear weapon and freeze the program and shine a very bright light on it and through the inspection and do that with the roefs t rest of the world on our side. there's a down side however, and i testified before congress and did at the time and that is when the agree lapses in 15 years they could go back to a nuclear program and i think that the upside outweighs the down side. >> real quick on isis and we had another attack over the weekend and a thattack on isis. how do you classify it? >> well, i think that they have done a lots of the damage to the islamic state and the control and territory is shrinking. they're in libya and have a lot of control over nigeria and i think that it's a struggle that they have to do on the other side and that's the islamic state. the battle is -- >> well, the battle is far from over and we apologize for that satellite issue and senator nick

iran's ideal of i.s. relationships is putting 10 soldiers on their knees and pointing guns at their heads. but we continue to reward a country that that is their penalty on u.s. relations. iran continues to exploit loopholes within the deal. this is the broader problem with the weakness of this administration. charles: the idea that late last night we heard that there were folks in the justice department, senior folk who said, this is ridiculous. let's do this at a didn't type. but they were overrecalled. this is -- were overruled. it seemed easy to connect these dots. >> it sees that the department of justice lawyers gave good advice to the administration. we don't know why the administration couldn't follow it. my guess is iran insisted on finalizing both of these transactions at the same -- same time. does it look bad? yes. is it illegal in does it relate up s. policy? no. if anyone thinks any prisoner exchange where you get a whose taken released can go cleanly and nicely -- charles: are you advocatin

this is the sort of thing that we use to sanction iran for back when we had iran sanctions. >>.enna: you are saying it's not normal because a lot of this don't know what happens in the back rooms of the treasury department. you watch the movies, like thisstuff happens all the time what you are saying is notreally . >> know, if this was a legitimate actor, if we were dealing with any other country , not a state sponsor of terrorism, not a country we were so concerned about nuclear weapons and proliferation, all the things that we sanctioned them for, we would have been able to move this money through the formals and agile sector but because there is still a state ulcer of terrorism, because there still a risk to the formal financial sector we had to do it this way and that only underscores how elicit iran has been and continues to be. jenna: we still have sanctions on iran regardless of everything we've done over the last year with them. >> we do and you just heard a statement from the state department, the state department stillconsiders iran to be a state sponsor of terrorism a

and iran. and was similar simply not linked to the he release of those detained americans nor the iran nuclear deal. >> why wasn't congress informed of the specifics of the arrangement? >> well, again, i would take objection to that. even publicly. the president and secretary of state kerry were out within hours of when this arrangement was made, the settlement concluded, talking about it publicly. certainly congress was informed on the details prior to the settlement. >> because a lot of the members of congress say they repeatedly asked including chairman of the relevant committees repeatedly asked for these specifics. they weren't informed. and we weren't informed that $400 million in foreign currency, euros, swiss flanks, was being flown to tehran, being delivered in an unmarked plane exactly the same time the american hostages were released. you're saying that was totally coincidental? >> well, a couple of points to make. i really can't speak to the mechanics of how the settlement was made