It is in the media’s interest to keep things fresh, wanting new stories, new angles, even if the truth requires them to look back and acknowledge that the genesis of the problem came under the Trump administration and the Biden White House is not going to let people forget the situation they inherited.

Yesterday, White House reporter Jacqui Heinrich asked Psaki about the Bergdahl case and the fact that one of those prisoners is now a primary figure in the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan.

HEINRICH: “If the administration is left to negotiate with the Taliban, including one of the commandos who was released from Guantanamo Bay as part of the Bowe Bergdahl prisoner swap when President Biden was vice president, how does he feel about that? Does he have any regrets, and how is he digesting that?” 

Psaki questioned the identification, and then pointed out that the Trump administration facilitated the release of far more Taliban prisoners.

PSAKI: “I’d point to the intelligence community to assess the identity of the individual. I know there’s been reporting on it, but that’s not my position to do from here.

I would also note that in prior negotiations and commitments made during the Trump administration, there were thousands of individuals who were released, so our focus right now is on, again, not taking the Taliban’s word for it.”

“We are assessing, we are closely watching, we are being very clear about the capacities and the capabilities we have at hand should they be needed. Of course, that’s not our objective.”

The Biden administration has been particularly harsh on the Trump administration’s “deal” with the Taliban, a group that should never have been trusted, and the fact that 5,000 of the worst of the worst were released, who are now able to lead the Taliban back into power. Neither administration has handled the situation with the success one would have liked but because it is the Biden administration left to pick up the mess and get our people home that it falls upon them to pull off the hardest operation and answer the hardest questions.

But along with answering those questions, it’s perfectly acceptable to answer by way of pointing out how this all began. Video Here:

Jen Psaki reminds the media that Trump released thousands of Taliban fighters who promptly overthrew the government in Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/DxzQhpFbWy

— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) August 17, 2021

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