Rep. Ed Royce on Tahmooressi Release: This Wasn’t a Priority for Obama

ROYCE: "Originally, they were trying to charge him 7 years to 21 years in prison for gun possession. So at the outset when they put number in prison in Tijuana he tried to escape. We worked -- Congressman Matt Salmon and I -to get him moved to the prison in Tecati, visited him there and began the process of making the argument to the attorney general that he has the ability under their system to issue a finding to the judge that would allow a humanitarian release based upon the fact that Mexico could not treat for PTSD. And the argument that I made was we had the report which we gave the attorney general two weeks before when he had gone in -- when Andrew Tahmooressi had gone into the hospital, the veterans hospital there in San Diego and they had made this analysis. They had written up report and that’s what we turned over to attorney general."
HEMMER: "So you had a hearing in October. How did the administration take the pleads that you were making to get him released?"
ROYCE: "Well, I had spoken to the vice president about this case and the vice president did relate it to the president. My request was when the president of the United States spoke to the president of Mexico, would he bring this case up on the phone. I later found out that did not happen. But we were able to talk to the attorney general, the foreign minister, the ambassador from Mexico who himself was the former attorney general and was very helpful. So by making a diplomatic push myself and Matt Salmon were --"
HEMMER: "OK. I can understand, but again, was this a priority for the administration or not? It does not appear that it was."
ROYCE: "I think the priority for the administration was in other places and we did see the exchange from for example Guantanamo of five Taliban terrorists for a serviceman there which I never fully understood. But in this particular case we have an individual who did two tours in Afghanistan, was wounded in Afghanistan. Robert Buchanan who was his commanding officer testified at the hearing we held and said this was one of the bravest marines that he had ever fought alongside. So I think --" [crosstalk]
HEMMER: "Are you saying, sorry -- Are you saying that Washington was too busy? That’s what I hear in your answer."
ROYCE: "I will share with you that the consulate, the U.S. consulate did their job and did what they were supposed to do. What my request had been to the vice president was would the president make a phone call to the president of Mexico or bring it up during this call to the president of Mexico. That did not happen."