Back in 2013 when the Iranian nuclear deal was being crafted, Fox News Chief Washington Correspondent James Rosen asked former State Department spokesman Jen Psaki, who currently serves as the White House Communications Director, about the direct negotiations between high ranking government officials in Iran and the United States. Previously another State Department spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland, had denied those negotiations were taking place.
Rosen: Is it the policy of the State Department, where the preservation of the secrecy of secret negotiations is concerned, to lie in order to achieve that goal?
Psaki: James, I think there are times when diplomacy needs privacy in order to progress. This is a good example of that.
That exchange was deleted by the State Department from the archives because it showed an inconsistency in the Obama administration's argument in favor of the Iran Deal and proved the Department was lying about the nature of the negotiations. The exchange was restored when Rosen happened to notice it had been deleted while working on a different, unrelated story a few months ago. Originally the Department blamed a "glitch" for the deletion, but later admitted an order was given to strip the record.
Why is this relevant now? Because the State Department was just exposed by the Wall Street Journal for delivering $400 million in cash to the Iranian regime. The delivery, which came by airplane, was made on the same day four American hostages were released. Was it ransom? The State Department and the White House say absolutely not. Whether officials inside the Department are lying about the payment is a whole different question. Based on their record, I think we know the answer.
The timing of $400 million payment to Iran was a "coincidence" just like State Department deleting video about the Iran deal was a "glitch"
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) August 3, 2016