Republicans and Donald Trump’s campaign highlighted reports that the Obama administration and other Western powers gave Iran last-minute secret exemptions to the terms of the nuclear deal as the latest sign that Democrats can’t be trusted on national security.
“Of course it did, insane!!” Donald Trump, Jr. tweeted Thursday, along with the Reuters story and headline: “U.S. agreed to ‘secret’ exemptions for Iran after nuclear deal – report.”
Reaction has been slow from key federal lawmakers to the latest revelations about the Iran deal, as Congress still out of town for its August recess. But Speaker Paul Ryan’s office circulated the Reuters story late Thursday morning, and Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., who sits on the Armed Services Committee, also issued a statement.
Ayotte argued that the new evidence of “secret exemptions” underscores “the willingness of the Obama administration to bend over backwards to accommodate Tehran, conceal information from the American people, and protect a fundamentally flawed and deeply dangerous agreement that is only getting worse.”
“While Iran continues to support terrorism, challenge the United States, and engage in malign activities throughout the region, the Obama administration has enabled Iran to evade limits on their nuclear program,” she said.
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., the House majority whip, also provided an early reaction.
“The Obama administration’s attempt to conceal details of the Iran nuke deal from the American public is alarming,” he tweeted along with the Reuters story Thursday.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., who formerly chaired the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was far harsher: “Secret exemptions, ballistic missile tests, ransom payments, heavy water purchases but no sanctions. #Iran’s bent + broken horrid nuke deal,” she tweeted.
The Republican Jewish Coalition issued a statement citing the new report as further confirmation that the Obama administration “consistently misled the American people on the Iran nuclear deal.”
“First, we learned about a secret side deal that allows Iran to upgrade its centrifuges, then it was the secret $400 million ransom payment, and now these secret exemptions that allow Iran to evade restrictions on their nuclear capabilities,” Matt Brooks, RJC’s president, said in a statement.
“It’s clear this is a dangerous and reckless deal with the largest state sponsor of terrorism, and no one who is serious about our national security could support it.”
