Clinton's memoir details early talks of Bergdahl swap

CHICAGO -- Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says in her new book that the U.S. initially rejected releasing Taliban fighters in a prisoner exchange for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

In a memoir released today, Clinton describes early negotiations that eventually led to Bergdahl's release May 31 after nearly five years of captivity in exchange for five Taliban prisoners held by the U.S. at the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"The Taliban's top concern seemed to be the fate of its fighters being held in Guantanamo Bay and other prisons," Clinton writes. "In every discussion about prisoners, we demanded the release of Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl."

Clinton says that "there would not be any agreement with the Taliban about prisoners without the sergeant coming home." The potential 2016 Democratic presidential candidate also outlines skepticism in the administration about releasing terrorists from Guantanamo Bay.

"The Taliban still wanted their fighters released from Guantanamo, but that was not a step we were willing to take yet," she says about negotiations in 2011.

During a June 2 appearance, Clinton said she didn't want to "second guess" President Barack Obama's decision to carry out the prisoner swap.

"We do have a tradition and I ascribe to it; it's a tradition that I think is not only one embedded in our military, but in our country, and that is we try not to leave any of our soldiers on the field," she said during a lecture in Broomfield, Colo.

The release of the prisoners in exchange for Bergdahl has upset some lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including Democrats.

Clinton, 66, has said she'll decide on a White House run by the end of this year or early next year.

"I also know that the most important questions anyone considering running must answer are not 'Do you want to be president' or 'Can you win?'" she writes in the book. "They are 'What's your vision for America?' and 'Can you lead us there?' The challenge is to lead in a way that unites us again and renews the American Dream. That's the bar, and it's a high one."

The former first lady and senator from New York said the 2008 campaign toughened her and made her less concerned about what others say about her.

"One silver lining of defeat was that I came out of the experience realizing I no longer cared so much about what the critics said about me," she writes. "I no longer had much patience for walking on eggshells."

Clinton drew criticism from Republicans after an interview that aired Monday at the start of the former first lady's book tour, in which she said her family was "dead broke" and saddled with legal bills when she and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, left the White House.

"We came out of the White House not only dead broke, but in debt," Clinton told ABC News. "We had no money when we got there, and we struggled to, you know, piece together the resources for mortgages, for houses, for Chelsea's education. You know, it was not easy."

Republicans immediately seized on the comment, two years after their presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, was dogged by accusations of being out-of-touch because of his wealth. GOP officials pointed out that Clinton received an $8 million book advance for her 2003 memoir.

"I think she's been out of touch with average people for a long time," said Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, pointing to Clinton's estimated $200,000-per-speech speaking fees and book advances. "Whether she was flat broke or not is not the issue. It's tone deaf to average people."

After leaving the White House, Bill Clinton earned money through speaking fees while Hillary Clinton represented New York in the Senate. But the couple departed the White House with large legal bills incurred during investigations into Whitewater and the Monica Lewinsky affair.

Hillary Clinton's Senate financial disclosure forms, filed for 2000, show assets between $781,000 and almost $1.8 million. The forms allow senators to report assets in broad ranges. The same form, however, showed that the Clintons owed between $2.3 million and $10.6 million in legal bills to four firms.

Information for this article was contributed by Jonathan Allen and John McCormick of Bloomberg News and Ken Thomas and Philip Elliott of The Associated Press.

A Section on 06/10/2014

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