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Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis.(Photo: Jeff Franko, USA TODAY)

WASHINGTON A House hearing on a U.S. cash paymentto Iran turned into a heated political skirmish Thursdayas a Republican congressmancompared the payment to a "drug drop" by the Obama administration and the panel's top Democrat led a walkout in protest of the "fiasco."

"Make better use of your time," Rep. Al Green of Texas told his fellow Democrats as they left the chamber after nearly two and a half hours of testimony by administration officials.

It was clear even before the hearing startedthat battle lines were being drawn. Republicans on the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations titled the hearing "Fueling Terror: The Dangers of Ransom Payments to Iran." Democrats denounced the title as"incendiary."

Republicans said they were trying to get to the bottom of whether a $400 million cash payment from the U.S. to Iran for settlement of a longstanding disputewas actually a ransom payment for the release of fiveAmericans held captive by the Iranian government. The cash, paid in European currency, arrived in Tehran Jan. 17, thesame day that the hostages were flown home. It was part of a larger $1.7 billion settlement agreement.

Administration officials testified that it is against U.S. policy to pay ransom for hostages and that the money was part of a settlement theUnited States owed Iran from a failed arms deal beforethe 1979Islamic Revolution in Iran.

President Obama originally said there was no connection between the payments and the release of the hostages, but the State Department has since confirmed that it withheld the delivery of that cashuntil allthe hostages were freed.

Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick, R-Penn., questioned State Department officials about why the payment to Iran had to be in cash, which Republicans repeatedly referred to as "the currency of terrorism."

"Certainly, there are other ways to make an immediate payment other than a middle-of-the-nightwhat-appears-to-be a drug drop," Fitzpatrick said.

Christopher Backemeyer, deputy assistant secretary for Iranian affairs at the State Department, responded that global banks are reluctant to handle transactions with the Iranian regime, making it difficult to transmit the money to Iran via checks or wire transfers.

"This was the way we felt we could guarantee immediate payment," he said. He added that immediate payment was part of the settlement agreement, which he said saved U.S. taxpayers billions in interest payments that Iran had originally sought.

"This was not a prisoner-for-cash deal," Backemeyer said.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., said that Fitzpatrick's use of the term"a drug drop" underscores Americans' belief that "Washington stinks." He said the committee was creating a higher level of "stinktivity."

Rep. Michael Capuano, D-Mass., said Republicans had three partisan goals for the hearing:"to trash the Obama administration, to trash the Iran nuclear deal, and to somehow make them (the administration) look like criminals dropping money in the middle of the night like drug dealers."

But Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, chairman of the full Financial Services Committee, said the cash payment to Iran on the day of the prisoner release gives Iran and other hostile nations an incentive to take more American hostages.

"It is clear that perhaps the Obama administration and certain Democratic members of the House are the only people in America who believe that ransom was not paid," Hensarling said.

Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., the chairman of the oversight subcommittee, cited somenews reports that the cash paid to Iran is being used to fund the Iranian military to help Hezbollah and other terrorist groups in the Middle East.

Backemeyer said the State Department's assessment is that the vast majority of the money is being used to boost the Iranian economy, which has been devastated by the economic embargo by the U.S. and other nations.

Green led the Democratic walkout after Duffy called for a second round of questioning of the administration witnesses.

"This is about micro-managing the presidency or, more specifically, about micro-managing President Barack Obama," Green said.

Republican leaders have scheduled another hearing on the issue for next week.

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., announced that he will hold a hearing Wednesday on his bill to prohibit any future "ransom payments" to Iran.

USA TODAY

State Dept.: $400M cash shipment to Iran tied to U.S. prisoners' release

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