The State Department on Wednesday insisted that there was no link at all between the $400 million cash payment to Iran and Iran’s decision to free four American hostages, despite Republican suspicions that the Obama administration essentially made a ransom payment in violation of U.S. policy.

Spokesman Mark Toner was asked questions about the payment just hours after the Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. sent $400 million in cash on an unmarked plane that “coincided” with the release of four American hostages.