Cash payment to Iran for American prisoners sets a dangerous precedent

In January of this year, four American citizens were released from Iranian custody in a prisoner swap that exchanged seven Iranians and removed 14 more Iranians from an international police watch list.

At least, those were the details the White House made public at the time.

Administration officials were quoted as saying the deal was “a one-time arrangement” and “not a precedent for the future.”

The more we learn about the exchange, however, the more we find that the administration has not been up front about the deal, which in reality sets a far more dangerous precedent.

Almost six months aft...