Several politicians have begun scrubbing their online profiles of any praise they may have hastily given in response to the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.
The Obama administration has been widely criticized after it released five terrorism suspects from Guantanamo Bay into the hands of the Qatari government in return for Mr. Bergdahl, who was captured from the Taliban nearly five years ago.
As more facts about the prisoner swap came to light, at least two Republicans and one Democrat began deleting comments they had made in support of Mr. Bergdahl’s rescue, Mashable reported.
Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch, tweeted, then deleted, two comments that read: “Great to hear that Bo Bergdahl has been released from captivity in Afgh/Pak. Warmest regards to his family with gratitude for his/their service and sacrifice,” according to Politwoops, a website that tracks deleted tweets by politicians.
Republican Rep. Lee Terry also removed a statement from his website that that called Mr. Bergdahl a “national hero.”
“We’ve heard and learned of some things that are extremely troubling in the last two days and we believed it was appropriate to take it down,” the congressman’s communications director Larry Farnsworth told Mashable.
And Rep. Mark Amodei, a Nevada Republican, deleted a tweet that said Mr. Bergdahl’s release was the “[b]est news I’ve heard in a long time!”
A representative told Mashable, “Upon hearing the news, his spokesperson quickly posted something expressing happiness in the return of a POW, without knowing the terms of the release or consulting the congressman. When more became known, the post was taken down.”
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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