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President to transfer Gitmo detainees despite Trump tweet
Obama to transfer more Gitmo detainees despite Trump's objection
Story highlights
- Obama has been making moves to leave as few Gitmo prisoners as possible
- Earlier Tuesday, Trump revived the hot-button topic of Guantanamo on Twitter
Washington (CNN)President
Barack Obama plans to transfer additional detainees from Guantanamo
Bay, the White House said Tuesday, hours after President-elect Donald
Trump warned against moving any more prisoners from the naval facility.
"I
would expect, at this point, additional transfers to be announced,"
said Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary. He characterized the
moves, which come in the final weeks of Obama's administration, as
continuing the long-running effort to clear detainees from the prison.
Earlier
Tuesday, Trump revived the hot-button topic of the prison facility at
Guantanamo Bay, also known as Gitmo, in a Twitter message warning
against further prisoner transfers before he takes office.
"There
should be no further releases from Gitmo. These are extremely dangerous
people and should not be allowed back onto the battlefield," Trump
tweeted Tuesday.
Earnest said Obama would not factor Trump's tweet into his decision-making on the prison.
Trump,
he said, would have "an opportunity to implement the policy that he
believes will be more effective when he takes office on January 20."
Trump's
message, consistent with his campaign promise to keep the facility open
and even increase the number of detainees, came shortly after the
President-elect criticized House Republicans for prioritizing a vote to
gut Congress' independent ethics panel over other important issues,
causing the House GOP to back down on the change.
"With all that Congress has
to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent
Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it ... may be, their number one act and
priority," Trump tweeted. "Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many
other things of far greater importance! #DTS."
Trump particularly criticized the timing of the vote, which was scheduled for the first day of the new congressional session.
Trump's
tweet on Guantanamo also followed news last month that Obama was trying
to leave as few prisoners there as possible, notifying Congress that
the administration intends to transfer out some of the detainees before
Trump is sworn in.
In February,
Trump told supporters after watching Obama talk about the prison that
he would keep it open and that "we're going to load it up."
While
some detainees have returned to the battlefield, they are released to
host countries who agree to take them. The idea is that the host country
keeps an eye on those released detainees so they don't return to
terrorism, but there's no guarantee of success.
Peter
Cook, the Pentagon's press secretary, said in response to Trump's tweet
that the department would follow the "appropriate policies" set forth
by Obama.
"We're going to carry out
the appropriate policies as set forth by the commander in chief with
regard to Guantanamo Bay and the secretary of defense," Cook said at a
press briefing.
The secretary of
defense "is going to continue to carry out his responsibilities as
appropriate until he's finished as secretary of defen
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