State Dept Spokeswoman Harf Calls Terrorists Released in Bergdahl Trade "Gentlemen"

Appearing Monday on MSNBC with Andrea Mitchell, Marie Harf, spokeswoman for the State Department, referred to the Taliban terrorist masterminds released from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for suspected Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl as “gentlemen.”

Pushing back against Mitchell’s contention that Congress should have been notified prior to the release, Harf, a former Obama campaign operative, said, “We’ve put in very stringent processes to determine that we can sufficiently mitigate the risk that these gentlemen will go back to the battlefield.” 

Last week, Harf repeatedly disputed assertions posed in question form from Fox News Producer Lucas Tomlinson about mounting evidence that Bergdahl was, in fact, a deserter. At one point, she suggested that Bergdahl’s six platoon mates present the night he left his post did not know what they were talking about.