On Friday's Special Report with Bret Baier, FNC correspondent Jennifer Griffin informed viewers that the Obama administration has once again snubbed the British government, as the administration transferred a group of detainees from Guantanamo Bay to the British protectorate of Bermuda without first consulting the British government as protocol requires. Substitute anchor Chris Wallace raised the issue:
Let's talk about the Bermuda part of the story because Bermuda is a British protectorate. We supposedly have a special relationship with the U.K., but we didn't talk to them, we didn't inform them about our deal to put the Uighurs there.
Griffin described the administration's faux pas as "stunning":
It's quite stunning. The State Department and the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, did not inform her British counterpart, did not inform the British foreign office that they plan to fly those four Uighurs there yesterday. Quietly, they flew them on a chartered flight from Gitmo to Bermuda. They had only negotiated with the premier of Bermuda. The premier had agreed to it, but he had not consulted with his parliament. And he had not, according to protocol, done what he was supposed to do, which was consult with the British. So the British, one of our main allies, are very annoyed that they were not consulted, Chris.
Below is a complete transcript of the report from the Friday. June 12, Special Report with Bret Baier on FNC:
CHRIS WALLACE: Increased political pressure is forcing the Obama administration to back away from its plan to release some former Guantanamo detainees in the U.S. and that could complicate efforts to get other countries to take prisoners. This after six detainees including four Chinese Muslim Uighurs were released on Thursday. We have Fox News team coverage tonight. National correspondent Catherine Herridge is in Bermuda with more on the transfer of the Uighurs to the island. But first, national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin is live at the Pentagon with the latest on the administration's apparent change of plans. Hey, Jennifer.
JENNIFER GRIFFIN: Hi, Chris. Well, the Obama administration appears to be in a real hurry to try and find a place for these 50 detainees at Gitmo that have been cleared for release. They're in a hurry to do so, so that the president can stay on track with his wish to close the Gitmo facility in the next six months. But what we're seeing is two different voices out of the White House right now. Some U.S. officials in the Obama administration telling us this morning that, in fact, the administration had backed away from the idea of bringing any of those detainees to the United States, because, in fact, they are experiencing too much trouble up on the Hill, especially among Democrats. And this is going to cause problems for the Obama administration with European allies who want some detainees to come to the U.S. if they're going to take some of those detainees in Europe, Chris.
WALLACE: Now, Jennifer, one of the issues I gather is the $100 billion war supplemental bill and that is factoring into the negotiations between the White House and Capitol Hill.
GRIFFIN: That's right. Those are heated discussions that are going to continue next week in the House and Senate, debates over the $106 billion war supplemental to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And essentially Democrats and Republicans have attached language in which no funding is being given to close Gitmo until the president presents a detailed plan for how he plans to close the facility. He has not done so yet, so there's no funding to close Gitmo. And also added is a stipulation that no detainees can come to the U.S., cannot even come to a prison in the U.S. unless that plan is presented. So a lot of tension. A lot of -- all eyes will be on the Hill next week with this debate over the war funding supplemental, Chris.
WALLACE: Now, Jennifer, let's talk about the Bermuda part of the story, because Bermuda is a British protectorate. We supposedly have a special relationship with the U.K., but we didn't talk to them, we didn't inform them about our deal to put the Uighurs there.
GRIFFIN: It's quite stunning. The State Department and the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, did not inform her British counterpart, did not inform the British foreign office that they plan to fly those four Uighurs there yesterday. Quietly, they flew them on a chartered flight from Gitmo to Bermuda. They had only negotiated with the premier of Bermuda. The premier had agreed to it, but he had not consulted with his parliament. And he had not, according to protocol, done what he was supposed to do, which was consult with the British. So the British, one of our main allies, are very annoyed that they were not consulted, Chris.
