GOP Sen. J.D. Vance (Ohio), known as an ally to former President Donald Trump, was among the Republicans rushing this weekend to try and assign some kind of blame for the deadly violence seen in Israel to the Biden administration — getting basic facts wrong in the process.
“As we watch this horrible situation in Israel unfold, Americans must face a stark truth: our tax dollars funded this. Money is fungible, and many of the dollars we sent to Iran are being used to now kill innocent people. This must stop,” Vance claimed on X (ex-Twitter). This characterization is false on multiple levels. He is trying to refer to the recent, partial freeing of billions of dollars tied to the Iranian government, whose leadership supports Hamas. This money, though, did not constitute U.S. government funds, instead originating with Iranian oil sales. And as of the recent attacks that Israel has faced from the terror group Hamas, none of the money ($6 billion in total) had been spent at all. It sat with a Qatari financial institution, reports said.
Once the money is further distributed, White House spokesman Andrew Bates says it’s not even going to the Iranian government. The tentative freeing of the funds, pursued in conjunction with the U.S. getting captive individuals back from Iran, came with strict restrictions for use.
“Shameful lies when supporting Israel should be the focus,” Bates said in direct response to Vance. “Fact: 0 taxpayer $. Fact: No Iranian $ spent yet. Fact: When spent, Iranian money can only be used by private actors to provably buy food and medicine. No reporter should spread this misinformation without fact checking.”
Hundreds of Israelis were killed in the recent attacks from Hamas, which some reports claimed also impacted American citizens in the region, though details were unclear as the situation rapidly developed. The U.S. indicated it was closely examining whether U.S. individuals were, in fact, impacted.
Shameful lies when supporting Israel should be the focus.
Fact: 0 taxpayer $
Fact: No Iranian $ spent yet
Fact: When spent, Iranian money can only be used by private actors to provably buy food and medicineNo reporter should spread this misinformation without fact checking. https://t.co/FkNpK9HUIC
— Andrew Bates (@AndrewJBates46) October 7, 2023
