Did U.S. pay "blood money" for CIA agent?

Raymond Davis was detained in Pakistan for killing two men he says tried to rob him.

/ CBS

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday that America "welcomed the release" of Raymond Davis, an American CIA employee being detained in Pakistan, but said he had no information on whether or not "blood money" had been used in negotiating the release.

Davis was arrested in Lahore, Pakistan on January 27, 2011 after fatally shooting two Pakistani men he said were trying to rob him, and was detained there until Wednesday. The White House initially attempted to secure his release by seeking diplomatic immunity, but Pakistan's foreign ministry argued he had not been given diplomatic designation prior to the killings. It was subsequently discovered that Davis was working with the CIA as part of a covert intelligence-gathering team.

Since his release on Wednesday, reports have surfaced alleging that the U.S. paid a substantial sum in "blood money" to relatives of the victims in order to guarantee the release.

Carney told reporters during a press briefing on Wednesday that Davis had been pardoned by the families of the victims "in accordance with Pakistani law" - but said that as far as the blood money was concerned, "I don't have any info that would corroborate that."

According to the Washington Post, the negotiation of Davis' release has been underway for weeks.

"There has been a plan in the works for the last three weeks," an unnamed U.S. official told the Post. "The concern was that if the actual murder trial started it would become very difficult to extricate him."

The official also told the Post that three families were receiving somewhere between $700,000 and $1 million each as part of the deal.

According to the Post, a Punjab province law minister told a Pakistani news outlet that Davis was freed after the relatives accepted the money.

"I would refer you to the State Department on that,' Carney told reporters. "I don't have any more information on that for you."

[slatep]

YOU THINK.??!!!

[WeHappyFew]

Not necessarily cash.............

[slownewsdayomewannagohome]

by brianbwb2015

Son, there isn't enough money in America to pay what they owe to me and mine

---------------

Oh, no, are you back at it with your "reparations"?

I am horrified at what we've done to the American Indians, women, Blacks, gays, and any other subset you can think of.

If you have a legal grievance, file it in court.

.

[slownewsdayomewannagohome]

Keep in mind that I, personally, have never been against any of those groups - pretty much the opposite. Don't ask me for reparations.

[freeamerica31]

Another Obama State Department debacle. Secretary Clinton pls get your act together. This guy had Diplomatic Immunity and you pay the families with taxpayer money to the tune of 2.3 million. If this had been an ISI agent in the U.S. that was in the same situation, the U.S. Government would have released him and our folks would never had seen a dime. Get the heck out of that place and bring our troops home President Obama. You can hold target practice with the Drones and Cruise Missle inventory.

[jessytell]

If Clinton and Obama are saying we did not then it is a done deal we did.

[askagain]

We spend billions in Pakistan and they shake us down for $2,000,000 dollars in "blood money." Next time you put gas in your car, just think about the three families that are instant millionaires thanks to our involvement with Pakistan. Would it surprise anyone if these two men were trying to rob or kidnap an American CIA agent? It is not like Americans haven't been targets in countries like Paklistan. Does anyone remember Daniel Pearl? Wasn't he beheaded in Pakistan? We should simply cut-off all aid to Pakistan. They must be laughing at us.

[slownewsdayomewannagohome]

We should cut off all aid to the middle east, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Eygpt, etc.

Pretending we have the funds to give charity to other nations, much less involve our military unilaterally, is transparent and a ridiculous farce.

.

[askagain]

slownewsdayomewannagohome - That is something we can agree on.

[tsigili]

We pay the world to have our way.

[RadioMan20]

Raymond Davis is a lucky guy. I thought for sure he was a dead man. I guess he's now our go-to b*tch for the worst assignments in the world.

[Rodeo_Joe]

I don't think the "round of hot chocolate for everyone" story is flying.

[scabbard2]

Some things just don't change, right....guns here, drugs there, money everywhere.

[jtdev1]

"Did U.S. pay "blood money" for CIA agent?"


Stupid question...

Like asking if we swapped arms for hostages....