Multiple veterans groups sent a letter to President Donald Trump on Thursday, urging him to reconsider a recent executive order regarding immigration and refugee programs, citing concerns about the safety of Afghan interpreters and their families who helped the U.S. military.

The executive order, the Realigning the United States Refugee Program, will go into effect on Monday and suspend the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP).

Trump's order immediately pauses all processing and movements for USRAP refugees, who are referred due to threats from their association with the U.S. - such as family members of service members, and Afghan partner forces.

Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs), people who directly worked for or supported the U.S. government - which includes interpreters and contractors, do not appear to be directly impacted. 

2 AMERICANS RELEASED IN EXCHANGE FOR TALIBAN PRISONER

They could, however, be indirectly affected by implementation decisions or additional orders, according to #AfghanEvac, a non-profit that helps facilitate relocation and resettlement of Afghan U.S. allies. 

The veterans groups wanted to highlight "unintended consequences" of the order, claiming it could adversely affect the mental health of countless veterans.

The letter, obtained by Fox News, discussed the bonds many service members and veterans formed with Afghan partners who supported the global war on terror, often at great personal risk to themselves and their families.

"The current suspension of certain pathways for these allies may unintentionally penalize individuals who could be eligible for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) but do not currently hold them — not because they do not meet the qualifications, but because of the chaotic and disorganized nature of the withdrawal from Afghanistan under the previous administration," the letter read. 

The groups said they "fully support" Trump's goal of prioritizing American security, but believe there is a clear opportunity to address the issue without harm to Afghan partners.

The executive order argues that the entry of additional refugees would be "detrimental to the interests of the United States," but notes the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security can jointly make exceptions and admit refugees on a case-by-case basis when in the national interest, and there is no threat to America’s security or welfare.

Noting concerns about Afghan partners being deported "erroneously," the groups said the partners' immediate family members, who face serious threats from the Taliban may lose their hopes of safe passage.

GOLD STAR FAMILIES DEVASTATED BY BIDEN'S BOTCHED AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL ENDORSE HEGSETH FOR SECDEF

They asked the president to consider SIV-eligible allies and their families, to prevent them from being "inadvertently cast aside due to lapses that occurred under the botched withdrawal," according to the letter. 

"This approach would protect those who have risked their lives for our country while reinforcing your administration’s clear commitment to national security," they wrote.

USRAP has no impact on illegal immigration, according to #AfghanEvac. Refugees must be vetted before entering the U.S., and crossing the border without authorization voids their eligibility.

Chad Robichaux, a U.S. Marine Corps force recon veteran and Department of Defense contractor, told Fox News he spent years of his life protecting American lives domestically and internationally, but the sacrifice was not made solely by U.S. service members.

"Afghan interpreters risked their lives for two decades alongside us to defeat the evils of the Taliban," Robichaux said. "When Afghanistan fell, I personally went to rescue my interpreter Aziz from the clutches of that very evil, delivering him to American soil. President Trump is honorably taking strong steps to keep this hallowed soil safe. But in doing so, [it] places these same Afghans in jeopardy. These Afghan Allies have demonstrated more patriotic courage than some of our own citizens, and I am asking for their due protection in the midst of these sweeping security measures."

The suspension effectively leaves thousands of Afghan allies stranded in limbo, according to #AfghanEvac. The organization claims at least 10 to 15,000 individuals are fully vetted and awaiting flights in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries.

TRUMP ORDER PUTS THOUSANDS OF AFGHAN ALLIES WAITING FOR US RESETTLEMENT IN LIMBO

Groups that signed the letter included: Save Our Allies; Sheepdog Response; The Verardo Group; The Independence Fund; Diesel Jack Media; Special Operations Association of America; and Mighty Oaks Foundation.

Tim Kennedy - a Green Beret, former UFC fighter, founder of Sheepdog Response, and president of Save Our Allies - told Fox News it is the nation's duty to protect its allies.

"I’ve served with the most patriotic heroes our nation has to offer. I’ve watched them brilliantly and valiantly sacrifice life and limb to protect the United States," Kennedy said. "Among those patriots are the Afghan men who risked threat and brutality from the Taliban to defend the freedom and American ideals we hold dear."

There are still 150,000 to 250,000 Afghans seeking settlement, according to #AfghanEvac. An estimated 40,000 to 60,000 are refugees under USRAP.

"The Biden administration is responsible for our blood-soaked exit from Afghanistan," Kennedy said. "The Allies we served beside didn’t receive the promise we offered them. I applaud the necessary and exemplary efforts President Trump is making to secure our country from foreign threats, but it is our duty to protect and preserve the sanctity of our promise to those Afghan allies. In many cases, we owe them our lives, and we must let this be their home."

Since the end of the war in 2021, some 180,000 Afghans have resettled in the U.S., Fox News Digital reported.

Many of those who are still waiting for refugee approval are hiding out in Pakistan, fearful of deportation back to Afghanistan.

Daniel Elkins, CEO of Special Operations Association of America, said he is "certain there would be more Americans in Arlington cemetery if it weren’t for Afghans who risked their lives to help us, and now is the time for us to help them."

Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman emeritus of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Fox News he looks forward to continuing to work with Save Our Allies as they advocate for all Afghan allies former President Joe Biden "abandoned."

"Unlike President Biden who consistently dismissed pleas from veterans and service members to help their Afghan allies, President Trump cares about America's veterans and service members and will listen to them," McCaul said.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment Thursday night.

Fox News Digital's Morgan Phillips contributed to this story.

Two Americans have been freed in a prisoner swap between the U.S. and Afghanistan’s Taliban in exchange for a Taliban figure imprisoned for life in California, officials said Tuesday.

The family of Ryan Corbett, one American freed by the Taliban in the deal, told Fox News that he is finally on his way back home to the U.S. after being detained for more than two years ago while on a business trip.

"Today, our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude and praise to God for sustaining Ryan’s life and bringing him back home after what has been the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives," a statement from Corbett’s family said. 

Corbett's family thanked both President Trump and former President Biden, along with National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and other current and former government officials.

WIFE OF AMERICAN HELD HOSTAGE IN AFGHANISTAN REVEALS ‘INCREDIBLY CRUSHING’ CALL WITH BIDEN AFTER TWO-YEAR WAIT

Fox News is working to confirm the identity of the second American freed in the deal.

Corbett was abducted Aug. 10, 2022, after returning to Afghanistan, where he and his family lived during the collapse of the U.S.-backed government a year prior. He arrived in Afghanistan on a valid 12-month visa to pay and train staff, as part of a business venture he led aimed at promoting Afghanistan's private sector through consulting services and lending.

Corbett's family also praised the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar, which hosted negotiations between the U.S. and the Taliban over the years, "for their vital role in facilitating Ryan’s release, and for their visits to Ryan as the United States’ Protecting Power in Afghanistan."

WIFE OF DETAINED AMERICAN IN AFGHANISTAN MEETS WITH TRUMP'S NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER

The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry in Kabul confirmed the swap, saying two unidentified U.S. citizens had been exchanged for Khan Mohammed, who was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment in 2008 on drug trafficking and terrorism charges. He was being held in California.

Mohammed was detained on the battlefield in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province. The Justice Department at the time referred to Mohammed as "a violent jihadist and narcotics trafficker" who "sought to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan using rockets." He was the first person to be convicted on U.S. narco-terrorism laws.

The deal comes less than a day after President Trump was sworn in as commander in chief, succeeding former President Biden, who oversaw the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

The Taliban called the exchange the result of "long and fruitful negotiations" with the U.S. and said it was a good example of solving problems through dialogue.

"The Islamic Emirate looks positively at the actions of the United States of America that help the normalization and development of relations between the two countries," it said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Former President Biden issued a preemptive pardon to Gen. Mark Milley on Monday, capping off a presidency marred by the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021.

Milley accepted the pardon, saying in a statement he does not want to spend the remainder of his life fighting "retribution." 

But critics of the withdrawal in Congress say they aren’t done with him. 

"Mark Milley might be pardoned, but we will continue to explore ways to hold him accountable," said Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., an Afghanistan veteran.

Post-withdrawal assessments largely question why the military pulled out of the region before civilian evacuations were complete. 

Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has admitted the withdrawal where 13 U.S. troops lost their lives was a "strategic failure." 

HOUSE GOP RELEASES SCATHING REPORT ON BIDEN'S WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN

During a Foreign Affairs Committee hearing in 2024, Milley blamed the State Department for delaying a Noncombatant Evacuation Operations (NEO), or an order to withdraw U.S. civilians working in the country, but praised the military’s actions.

That order did not come until mid-August 2021, just two weeks before the deadline Biden had set to leave the country. 

"I think that was too slow and too late. And that then caused a series of events that resulted in the very last couple of days. There’s a lot of other mistakes that [were] made along the way… [but] I think that was the key." 

"The U.S. military is responsible for supporting the State Department in a non-combatant evacuation operation, however, the withdrawal of U.S. forces from a combat theater as it relates to an act of war is the responsibility of the Department of Defense, and at the end of the day, we did not leave a residual force behind," Alex Pritsas, a former counterterrorism official at the Defense Department and board member at Special Operations Association of America, told Fox News Digital. 

BIDEN THANKS TROOPS FOR ‘STRENGTH' AND ‘INTEGRITY' IN UNPRECEDENTED TIMES AT FAREWELL ADDRESS TO MILITARY

Milley said in congressional testimony in June 2021 that the U.S. would not see scenes reminiscent of the fall of Saigon in Vietnam, where U.S. personnel were being airlifted from rooftops.

"I don’t see Saigon 1975 in Afghanistan. The Taliban just aren’t the North Vietnamese Army."

Milley’s pardon was part of a group of preemptive pardons that included Anthony Fauci and members of the January 6th Committee. 

"My family and I are deeply grateful for the President’s action today,"  Milley said in reaction to the pardon. 

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He went on: "After 43 years of faithful service in uniform to our nation, protecting and defending the Constitution, I do not wish to spend whatever remaining time the Lord grants me fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights. I do not want to put my family, my friends, and those with whom I served through the resulting distraction, expense, and anxiety."

Jerry Dunleavy, former top investigator on the House Foreign Affairs Committee's Afghanistan probe, told Fox News Digital of the pardon: "Milley wrongly dismissed the obviously correct comparison between the fall of Saigon and the impending fall of Kabul, massively inflated size of the Afghan forces, woefully underestimated the speed and scope of Taliban district control, then pushed fiction that Afghanistan fell in only 11 days.

"After a disaster where 13 troops were murdered at Abbey Gate and the Taliban regained power, Milley then wrongly predicted Ukraine would fall to the Russians in just three days," he added, referring to remarks Milley made in a closed-door briefing with lawmakers. 

A CNN employee says losing a high-profile defamation case this week might have been expected inside the network, but that didn't stop it from leaving a mark.

"Being found liable for defamation and dishonesty is a bad thing," the employee said bluntly in a message to Fox News Digital.

Navy veteran Zachary Young successfully alleged CNN smeared him by implying he illegally profited when helping people flee Afghanistan on the "black market" during the Biden administration's military withdrawal from the country in 2021. Young believes CNN "destroyed his reputation and business" by branding him an illicit profiteer who exploited "desperate Afghans" during the Nov. 11, 2021, report that first aired on CNN’s "The Lead with Jake Tapper." 

After a chaotic trial that was held over two weeks in Florida, the jury ruled Young was to be awarded $4 million in lost earnings and $1 million in personal damages, and it also found punitive damages were warranted against CNN. Before the jury could rule on the latter amount, CNN and Young reached a settlement.

JURY FINDS CNN COMMITTED DEFAMATION AGAINST NAVY VETERAN, SETTLEMENT REACHED ON PUNITIVE DAMAGES

Afterward, Young said he felt "vindication."

"It's been a long three years, and to have the outcome that we wanted, which was vindication publicly, is an incredible feeling, and I'm glad that it's over, and we don't have to spend more years and more time arguing about the meaning of a word," Young told Fox News Digital on Friday.

While sparsely covered at first in the press, as the trial wound down, the case drew more attention from mainstream outlets, and the verdict on Friday was widely covered. CNN's own media unit has offered minimal coverage of the case. Media correspondent Hadas Gold published a short item about the verdict, and chief media analyst Brian Stelter made brief mention of the outcome in his Reliable Sources newsletter Saturday, in addition to a blurb at the outset of the trial on Jan. 6. According to a Grabien search, CNN has not covered the lawsuit or the jury's decision on the air.

During the trial, Young's legal team revealed CNN internal messages obtained through discovery that repeatedly showed staffers expressing hostility toward the Navy veteran. 

Among those presented to the jury included one calling him a "s--tbag" and an "a--hole," and another one saying he has a "punchable face." It was also revealed that Alex Marquardt, the CNN correspondent who led the on-air report, told a colleague "we're gonna nail this Zachary Young mf---er," which was cited repeatedly during the case, and said the report was going to be "your funeral bucko," referring to Young in an exchange with a colleague.

A CNN spokesperson said the network would take "useful lessons" from the case.

PLAINTIFF IN CNN DEFAMATION TRIAL CELEBRATES 'VINDICATION' FOLLOWING COURTROOM DRAMA: 'I'M GLAD IT'S OVER'

"We remain proud of our journalists and are 100% committed to strong, fearless and fair-minded reporting at CNN, though we will of course take what useful lessons we can from this case," CNN said in a statement after the settlement.

The CNN employee told Fox News Digital that they didn't think the issues that arose in CNN's journalism with this story reflect cultural issues within the company.

"The messages were bad… But I don't think it's a network-wide cultural thing," they said. "It seemed to me it was an overzealous reporter — just someone who believed something was true and framed info in that context… found info to support that and didn't critically look at their own conclusions."

They added this comes at a time when morale is poor at the network, which is grappling with low ratings and reported pending layoffs, and there didn't appear to be any internal "rallying behind" the flag internally. 

A spokesperson responded to reports about CNN's financial health by calling it "very healthy" and noting a report showing parent company Warner Bros. Discovery was making an investment of over $70 million in its digital pivot.

Another CNN insider told Fox News Digital that the private messages that came out in discovery were "damning stuff."

CNN DEFAMATION TRIAL: EDITOR WHO SAID STORY WAS ‘FULL OF HOLES LIKE SWISS CHEESE’ GRILLED ON WITNESS STAND

At another point in the trial, CNN senior national security editor Thomas Lumley was grilled after internal messages showed he was highly skeptical of the "pretty flawed" report. Lumley was called as a witness after internal messages showed he felt the report was "full of holes like Swiss cheese." 

Another reporter involved in the story, Katie Bo Lillis, acknowledged she didn't think about how much the segment could affect Young; the plaintiff said it wrecked his reputation and also had a drastic effect on his personal life, leaving him depressed and emasculated.

Several CNN figures also testified they didn't agree with the network's decision to apologize in 2022 for suggesting Young operated on a "black market."

"The woeful performance of CNN journalists on the witness stand… juices the impact of Young v. CNN," The Washington Post's Erik Wemple wrote. "They stumbled under questioning; they failed to defend a key wording choice; and in certain instances, as in the case of Lillis, they appeared clueless about the impact of their own massive network, which reaches more than 70 million households in the United States."

"CNN should be deeply embarrassed that despite layers and layers of editorial staff, they could not perform basic journalistic functions nor overcome clear dysfunction among overpaid, arrogant TV stars playing journalist and cowardly editors," a former CNN staffer who still works in the industry told Fox News Digital.

After the case ended, Young told Fox News Digital he didn't have any animosity toward the network but did hope CNN and other media organizations learned from the experience.

"I hope that they take this as an opportunity to look in the mirror and realize that, you know, there is room for change and improvement, and if that's the outcome that it has on CNN, then maybe others in the media also can see that as something that's positive," he said. 

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – A jury found that CNN committed defamation against U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young and is responsible for punitive damages on Friday after more than eight hours of deliberation. 

The jury ruled Young is awarded $4 million in lost earnings, $1 in personal damages such as pain and suffering and said that punitive damages are warranted against CNN. 

The jury will now proceed to phase two of the trial to determine punitive damages. Lawyers on each side will have a chance to present evidence to determine punitive damages. 

CNN DEFAMATION TRIAL: CLOSING ARGUMENTS MADE AS JURY BEGINS TO DELIBERATE LAWSUIT AGAINST NETWORK

Young alleged that CNN smeared him by implying he illegally profited when helping people flee Afghanistan on the "black market" during the Biden administration's military withdrawal from the country in 2021. Young believes CNN "destroyed his reputation and business" by branding him an illegal profiteer" who exploited "desperate Afghans" during a November 11, 2021, report by Alex Marquardt that first aired on CNN’s "The Lead with Jake Tapper." 

The decision comes after 3-plus years of litigation and a wild, sometimes chaotic, 8-day trial. 14th Judicial Circuit Court Judge William S. Henry, who presided over the trial in Bay County, Florida, previously ruled that Young "did not act illegally or criminally," despite what the network reported on air. 

After the verdict sent shock waves through the courtroom, Judge Henry read instructions to the jury as they prepared to determine punitive damages. 

"You should consider this additional evidence, along with the evidence presented, and you should decide any disputed factual issues by the greater weight of the evidence. The greater weight of the evidence means the more persuasive and convincing force and effect of the entire evidence in the case," Judge Henry said. 

"In order to decide the amount of punitive damages, if any, to be assessed as punishment against the defendant," he continued. "This amount would be in addition to the compensatory damages you have previously awarded." 

Judge Henry instructed jurors to consider "the nature, extent and degree of misconduct and the related circumstances" including, "whether the wrongful conduct was motivated solely by unreasonable financial gain," "whether the unreasonably dangerous nature of the conduct together with the high likelihood of injury resulting from the conduct was actually known by the defendant," "whether at the time… the defendant had a specific intent to harm the plaintiff," and if the conduct "did, in fact, harm plaintiff." 

Judge Henry also said the "financial resources" of CNN should be taken into consideration. 

"You may not award an amount that would financially destroy the defendant," Judge Henry said.  

"You may, in your discretion, decline to award punitive damages. When determining the amount, if any, punitive damages to be awarded, you may impose punitive damages to punish the defendant only for the specific conduct you have concluded caused plaintiff hard," Judge Henry said. "You may not award punitive damages to punish defendant for anything other than the conduct that injured plaintiff." 

CNN DEFAMATION TRIAL: EDITOR WHO SAID STORY WAS ‘FULL OF HOLES LIKE SWISS CHEESE’ GRILLED ON WITNESS STAND

Young’s lead counsel Vel Freedman urged jurors to punish CNN during a powerful closing statement on Thursday. 

"It was a calculated attack by CNN on his character that has inflicted deep and lasting wounds," Freedman said. 

CNN's Jake Tapper first teased the 2021 segment at the center of the suit by warning CNN viewers of "desperate Afghans still trying to escape the country being preyed on by folks demanding that they pay up big time to get out."

Later in the show, Tapper reminded viewers that the story about "desperate Afghans" being "preyed upon" was up next. 

Tapper’s teasers ended up being a key part of the trial, as jurors asked to take another look at them during the deliberation process. 

Once the much-hyped segment began, Tapper said Marquardt found "Afghans trying to get out of the country face a black market full of promises, demands of exorbitant fees, and no guarantee of safety or success."

Tapper tossed to Marquardt, who said "desperate Afghans are being exploited" and need to pay "exorbitant, often impossible amounts" to flee the country. 

Marquardt then singled out Young, putting a picture of his face on the screen and saying his company was asking for $75,000 to transport a vehicle of passengers to Pakistan or $14,500 per person to end up in the United Arab Emirates.

"Prices well beyond the reach of most Afghans," Marquardt told viewers.

CNN then aired Marquardt allegedly attempting to call Young, who did not answer the phone. 

"In a text message, he told CNN that Afghans trying to leave are expected to have sponsors pay for them," Marquardt said, adding that Young told the network evacuation costs are "highly volatile and based on environmental realities."

Marquardt then said Young "repeatedly declined to break down the cost or say if he’s making money," before playing a clip of an anonymous sympathetic man who couldn’t afford to have his family evacuated from Afghanistan.

CNN DEFAMATION TRIAL: PLAINTIFF ACCUSES NETWORK OF FAKING CRITICAL PHONE CALL FOR ‘THEATER’

Marquardt went back to Young, saying he received another text message. 

"In another message, that person offering those evacuations, Zachary Young, he wrote, ‘Availability is extremely limited, and demand is high’… he goes on to say, ‘That’s how economics works, unfortunately,’" Marquardt told viewers.

Tapper responded, "Unfortunately, hmm," before thanking Marquardt for the report. 

No other people or companies were named other than Young.

The phone call became a point of contention during the trial, as the plaintiff suggested Marquardt didn’t really place a call to Young and behind-the-scenes footage of the segment showed Marquardt joking it was "theater" to colleagues. But Marquardt testified that he called the number he believed to belong to Young and dismissed the "theater" joke as a reference to "Saturday Night Live."

The segment was shared on social media and also repackaged for CNN's website. The Marquardt report was re-aired Nov. 13 on Jim Acosta’s CNN show and multiple times on CNN International. 

Every second of the segment was picked apart during the trial, with CNN’s legal team insisting Young was not a major element of the story and the plaintiff’s team suggesting the "black market" implication essentially ruined Young’s career as a defense contractor, where that language was specifically mentioned as grounds for termination in a contract he signed. 

Young's legal team obtained damning CNN internal messages through discovery repeatedly showing staffers expressing overt hostility towards the Navy veteran. Among those presented to the jury included one calling him a "s--tbag" and an "a--hole," one saying he has a "punchable face."

Marquardt's own message telling a colleague "we're gonna nail this Zachary Young mf---er" was often cited throughout the trial.

At one point, CNN senior national security editor Thomas Lumley was grilled in court after internal messages showed he was highly skeptical of the "pretty flawed" report. Lumley was called as a witness after internal messages showed he felt the report was "full of holes like Swiss cheese." 

Young, who became emotional on the witness stand when discussing the segment’s impact on his marriage, also testified that he rescued at least 22 women from Afghanistan, but that information was never reported by CNN. 

CNN DEFAMATION TRIAL: REPORTER PRESSED ON HIS HEAVY PURSUIT OF NAVY VETERAN AS DEFENSE DOWNPLAYED INVOLVEMENT

CNN issued an on-air apology on March 25, 2022, when substitute anchor Pamela Brown was sitting in Tapper’s chair. However, several CNN staffers who took the witness stand said he didn’t feel the apology was necessary and Adam Levine testified that the apology was only issued for legal purposes. 

Freedman also reminded jurors that many CNN staffers testified that the "black market" term was accurate, and others said the network’s on-air apology was not necessary.

"None of them are sorry. All of them said they would do it again," Freedman told jurors on Thursday. 

The trial also included Judge Henry scolding CNN lead counsel David Axelrod, who is not the on-air pundit with the same name, several times and forcing him to apologize to Young on the spot for calling him a "liar" when evidence proved he didn’t lie about failing to earn work in his field on the heels of the CNN segment airing. 

Axelrod had insisted a document showing Young still had a security clearance was proof he was able to find work after the CNN segment aired, but it ultimately came out that the security clearance was dropped in 2022. 

This is a developing story, more to come… 

A wife working to bring her husband home from years of wrongful detainment in Afghanistan saw heartening progress over the weekend. 

After traveling to Mar-a-Lago with no promise that anyone with President-elect Donald Trump's team would see her, Anna Corbett had a meeting with incoming National Security Advisor Michael Waltz for more than an hour and received a phone call from President Biden. 

"I have heard from several that President Trump is concerned about our family. He knows that we are down here. He knows about our situation, and is very concerned," Corbett revealed to Fox News on Monday morning. 

On Sunday, Waltz came to Corbett’s hotel and met with her for over an hour, she said. 

"I am extremely encouraged, and the contrast of my experience is just mind-blowing right now." 

Corbett said she "absolutely believe[s]" the Trump administration will bring her husband home, but "the details are unclear." 

WIFE OF AMERICAN DETAINED IN AFGHANISTAN HEADS TO MAR-A-LAGO TO BEG TRUMP TO TAKE UP PRISONER SWAP

Corbett spoke with Fox News Digital on Friday as she was heading down to Mar-a-Lago on a last-minute flight to beg for a meeting with Trump. 

Biden had not called her once, she said, in the two and a half years since her husband was detained, until this weekend. 

She told Fox News Biden was "very kind" and "empathetic," but the call was "absolutely devastating" because it was clear he was not going to bring Ryan Corbett home in his final days in office. 

"What I heard him say is he is not bringing Ryan home," she said.

Since Ryan Corbett was detained two and a half years ago, he "just keeps missing milestones," according to Anna Corbett. One of their three kids recently shot his first buck while hunting, another was elected prom queen and another graduated from high school. 

The Corbett family lived in Afghanistan, where Ryan Corbett operated a business prior to the Taliban takeover in 2021. 

"We love the people, and had to evacuate when the Taliban took over, but Ryan kept his business open, and that's why he returned to Afghanistan," said Anna Corbett. 

In August 2022, Ryan Corbett and a German business partner returned to Afghanistan to train new hires for their business that offered consulting services and lending. Both were detained by the Taliban, and since then, Anna Corbett has had short calls with him about every two weeks as his condition in prison has deteriorated. 

The White House on Sunday confirmed Biden spoke with Corbett's family, along with the families of George Glezmann and Mahmoud Habibi – who have also been unjustly held by the Taliban in Afghanistan since 2022.

US IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH TALIBAN TO SWAP AMERICANS IN AFGHANISTAN FOR PRISONER IN GUANTANAMO

White House officials noted that over the last four years, Biden brought home more than 75 Americans unjustly detained around the world. All Americans detained before the U.S. military withdrawal in August 2021 have returned home, according to the White House.

"Globally, President Biden and his team have worked around the clock, often in partnership with key allies, to negotiate for the release of Americans held hostage or unjustly detained abroad so that they can be reunited with their families, and will continue to do so throughout the remainder of the term," according to the statement.

Reports broke last week that the Biden administration was negotiating with the Taliban to swap three U.S. citizens being held in Afghanistan in exchange for a Guantanamo Bay prisoner alleged to have been a close associate of Usama bin Laden. 

The deal seemingly stalled, as a senior Taliban official told The Guardian the group would rather wait to negotiate with the incoming Trump administration.

Trump told Fox News’ Peter Doocy last week he would consider a prisoner swap but seemed skeptical. 

"I haven't looked at it," Trump said Thursday. "I have not been in favor of the trade, but I'll be taking a look tomorrow. We'll announce something tomorrow." 

Despite the detentions, the U.S. remains the largest financial supporter of Afghanistan, having offered the nation around $3 billion since the 2021 withdrawal. 

The talks, which have been ongoing since at least July 2024, involve exchanging suspected senior al Qaeda aide Muhammad Rahim al Afghani for U.S. citizens Ryan Corbett, George Glezmann and Mahmoud Habibi, who were detained in Afghanistan in 2022.

The Taliban has long sought the release of Rahim, who has been held at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba since 2008, because the Pentagon believes he was a close associate of bin Laden. 

In November 2023, the Guantánamo Bay prison review board cited Rahim’s work for senior al Qaeda members, and his participation in attacks on U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan, as reasons to keep him in custody.

As he leaves office next week, President Biden will primarily be remembered for his astounding incompetence. As a new generation of officeholders from both parties battles the devastating consequences of his failed leadership, his destructive impact on his own party, agenda and voters will cast a long shadow.  

Among the myriad failures, five stand out as a cautionary tale for future leaders.

Even in the corrupt world of politics, Biden stood out for his obvious lack of integrity. His administration will be synonymous with gaslighting and influence-peddling. 

He lied about small things – like graduating in the top half of his law school class or leadership in the civil rights movement. He lied about personal things – like falsely claiming his son died in Iraq, and that members of his family were killed by a drunken driver.

WHY WE MUST EXPOSE THE CRIMINAL FRAUD OF THOSE BEHIND BIDEN'S DISASTROUS PRESIDENCY

He lied about blatantly obvious things, like inflation rates, student loan forgiveness and his promise not to pardon his son’s many crimes. He lied about matters of global significance – like the border being secure, the Afghanistan withdrawal being a success, and his own direct involvement in his family’s influence peddling. 

Nothing from his administration could be trusted – not even the jobs numbers. 

He governed the way he campaigned in 2020 – from the figurative basement. We seldom saw him. He would occasionally choose to bloviate on some issue to propagate a narrative, but he seldom took questions.

THE THREAT FROM RADICAL ISLAM IS NOW INSIDE OUR GATES. BIDEN IGNORED IT. TRUMP MUST ACT

He rarely interacted with the media and when he did, it was with a pre-scripted select few. His incessant vacations rarely appeared to involve any actual work. He demonstrated little familiarity with facts. 

It is unclear to what degree he was even engaged in making decisions. He spent roughly 40% of his time away from the White House.

He failed on the basic principles of presidential leadership. Our enemies did not fear us. Our allies took advantage of us. Our bureaucracy was weaponized against us.  

BIDEN KEEPS INSULTING AMERICANS WITH LAST MINUTE MOVES. REPUBLICANS CAN STOP IT

Biden made no attempt to bridge political divides. The justification for his candidacy was his knowledge of Washington and his promise to unite. There is no evidence any success bringing the country together.  

Rather than laying the groundwork for a prosperous future, he spent his political capital going after his political opposition. Most destructive to his party was his failure to lay the groundwork for a new generation of Democratic leadership.  

Even a great leader could not succeed on an agenda that imports rampant criminality, maintains unprecedented spending levels, pursues economically devastating energy policies, and prioritizes foreign aid over American prosperity. 

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If Democrats have policy ideas that actually work, Biden apparently never embraced them. Immigration, crime, foreign policy, woke policies and, of course, the economy all failed and were rejected resoundingly by the voters four years later.

Biden will be remembered for looting the treasury on his way out the door.  

In an undercover video, one EPA adviser described Biden’s approach to climate initiatives as "throwing gold bars off the Titanic" – a metaphor we are likely to find described most of government in the waning days of the Biden administration.  

In a petty effort to sabotage his successor, Biden has locked in regulations that prevent offshore drilling, commit the United States to costly climate initiatives, obligate us in long-term international conflicts, flood the country will millions who are here illegally, and embed loyalists in the bureaucracy while ensuring many didn’t need to come into the office in the next five years. These efforts not only undermine the future administration, they undermine American prosperity.

As bad as it all looks now, the generational impacts of Biden’s failures will etch his legacy of failure in stone. 

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A man who federal prosecutors say runs a notorious Japanese organized crime syndicate pleaded guilty last week to conspiring to traffic nuclear materials to Iran and U.S. weapons abandoned in Afghanistan to Burma. 

Takeshi Ebisawa, the 60-year-old alleged leader of the Japanese yakuza, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday to conspiring with a network of associates to traffic nuclear materials, including uranium and weapons-grade plutonium, from Burma to other countries. He also pleaded guilty to international narcotics trafficking and weapons charges, the Justice Department announced. 

Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim for the Southern District of New York said Ebisawa admitted that he "brazenly trafficked nuclear material, including weapons-grade plutonium, out of Burma," while at the same time, he worked to "send massive quantities of heroin and methamphetamine to the United States in exchange for heavy-duty weaponry such as surface-to-air missiles to be used on battlefields in Burma and laundered what he believed to be drug money from New York to Tokyo." 

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had been investigating Ebisawa since at least 2019, according to court documents and evidence presented in court. 

During the course of the probe, federal prosecutors say Ebisawa unwittingly introduced an undercover DEA agent who was posing as a narcotics and weapons trafficker to his international network of criminal associates, which spanned Japan, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, and the United States, among other places, "for the purpose of arranging large-scale narcotics and weapons transactions." 

JAPANESE CRIME BOSS CHARGED BY US PROSECUTORS IN CONSPIRACY TO TRAFFIC NUCLEAR MATERIAL TO IRAN

The superseding indictment alleges Ebisawa and his network, including his co-defendants, negotiated multiple narcotics and weapons transactions with that undercover agent. 

Ebisawa conspired to broker the purchase of U.S.-made surface-to-air missiles, as well as other heavy-duty weaponry, intended for "multiple ethnic armed groups in Burma," including the unidentified leader of "an ethnic insurgent group," according to federal prosecutors. He also allegedly negotiated a deal to accept large quantities of heroin and methamphetamine for distribution as partial payment for the weapons. 

"Ebisawa understood the weapons to have been manufactured in the U.S. and taken from U.S. military bases in Afghanistan," the DOJ said. "Ebisawa planned for the heroin and methamphetamine to be distributed in the New York market." 

In a separate transaction, he also allegedly conspired to sell 500 kilograms of methamphetamine and 500 kilograms of heroin to the undercover agent for distribution in New York, prosecutors say. 

Ebisawa was also accused of working to launder $100,000 in purported narcotics proceeds from the U.S. to Japan.

Beginning in early 2020, court documents say Ebisawa informed the undercover agent and a DEA confidential source that he had access to a large quantity of nuclear materials that he wanted to sell. 

Later that year, Ebisawa allegedly sent the undercover agent a series of photos "depicting rocky substances with Geiger counters measuring radiation," as well as purported lab analyses indicating the presence of thorium and uranium, court documents say. At Ebisawa's urging, the undercover agent agreed to help him broker the sale of his nuclear materials to an associate who was posing as an Iranian general for use in a nuclear weapons program, according to the Justice Department. 

Prosecutors say Ebisawa then offered to supply the supposed Iranian general with "plutonium" that would be even "better" and more "powerful" than uranium for this purpose. 

With two other co-conspirators, Ebisawa allegedly proposed to the undercover agent that the Burma insurgent group leader sell uranium to the supposed Iranian general, through Ebisawa, to fund the group's weapons purchase.

On a Feb. 4, 2022, video call, one of Ebisawa's co-conspirators allegedly told the undercover DEA agent and the Burma insurgent group leader that he had available more than 2,000 kilograms of Thorium-232 and more than 100 kilograms of uranium in the compound U3O8 – a compound of uranium commonly found in the uranium concentrate powder known as "yellowcake," according to court documents. 

IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM IS NEARING 'THE POINT OF NO RETURN,' FRANCE'S MACRON SAYS

He allegedly claimed he could produce as much as five tons of nuclear materials in Burma. They had several meetings in Southeast Asia to discuss their ongoing transactions, prosecutors say. 

During one of these meetings, one of Ebisawa's co-conspirators showed the undercover agent in a Thailand hotel room two plastic containers each holding a powdery yellow substance which he described as nuclear samples of "yellowcake." 

He allegedly said one container held a sample of uranium in the compound U3O8, and the other container held Thorium-232.

The samples were seized with the assistance of Thai authorities and subsequently transferred to the custody of U.S. law enforcement. 

The DOJ said a nuclear forensic laboratory in the U.S. examined the samples and determined that both samples contained detectable quantities of uranium, thorium, and plutonium. "In particular, the laboratory determined that the isotope composition of the plutonium found in the nuclear samples is weapons-grade, meaning that the plutonium, if produced in sufficient quantities, would be suitable for use in a nuclear weapon," prosecutors added. 

Ebisawa had been jailed in Brooklyn since his April 2022 arrest during a DEA sting operation that resulted in international drug and weapons charges. A superseding indictment was brought against him last February. 

On Wednesday, Ebisawa pleaded guilty to six counts. The two counts of narcotics importation conspiracy carry a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison. The other charges he admitted to are conspiracy to commit international trafficking of nuclear materials, international trafficking of nuclear materials, conspiracy to possess firearms, including machine guns and destructive devices, and money laundering. 

Ebisawa's guilty plea "should serve as a stark reminder to those who imperil our national security by trafficking weapons-grade plutonium and other dangerous materials on behalf of organized criminal syndicates that the Department of Justice will hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law," Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division said in a statement.

DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said the investigation into Ebisawa and his associates "exposed the shocking depths of international organized crime from trafficking nuclear materials to fueling the narcotics trade and arming violent insurgents."

EXCLUSIVE: A wife desperate to bring her husband home from 2½ years of wrongful detainment in Afghanistan has flown to Mar-a-Lago in Florida to implore President-elect Trump to take up her case. 

Ryan Corbett was captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan in August 2022 just as the U.S. was pulling out of the country, and Anna Corbett says she has been trying to get a meeting with the Biden administration ever since. 

This week, Anna saw a glimmer of hope when reports broke that the Biden administration has been negotiating with the Taliban to swap three U.S. citizens being held in Afghanistan in exchange for a Guantanamo Bay prisoner alleged to have been a close associate of Usama bin Laden. 

But that deal has seemingly stalled. A senior Taliban official told The Guardian the Taliban would rather wait to negotiate with the incoming Trump administration, shattering the hopes of the Corbett family. 

2 AMERICANS ARRESTED IN VENEZUELA ON EVE OF MADURO INAUGURATION OVER ‘TERRORISM’ CLAIMS

"I am absolutely desperate to fight for my family," Anna Corbett told Fox News Digital Friday during a layover on her last-minute flight to Mar-a-Lago. 

She isn’t sure whether the last-ditch attempt will work. The Trump team has not yet set up a meeting. 

"Wouldn’t it be amazing if I got a meeting in one day, when, for 883 days, I tried to get a meeting with President Biden, and he didn’t have the time?" she said. 

Trump told Fox News’ Peter Doocy he would consider a prisoner swap but seemed skeptical. 

"I haven't looked at it," Trump said Thursday. "I have not been in favor of the trade, but I'll be taking a look tomorrow. We'll announce something tomorrow." 

The talks, which have been ongoing since at least July 2024, involve exchanging suspected senior al Qaeda aide Muhammad Rahim al Afghani for U.S. citizens Ryan Corbett, George Glezmann  and Mahmoud Habibi, who were detained in Afghanistan in 2022.

Some Republicans in Congress privately voiced national security concerns over returning Rahim to the Taliban and questioned whether the negotiations had resulted in a bad deal. 

"Ryan is an amazing person, and he has done nothing wrong, and our family desperately needs him," Anna Corbett said, imploring the U.S. government to accept the deal. "He's a patriot. He was just trying to help the Afghan people, and this is a decision that the president needs to make. And we are just desperate for Ryan to come home alive as soon as possible."

Glezmann and Ryan Corbett have been declared by the State Department as wrongfully detained, and the Taliban denies holding Habibi. 

Anna Corbett said she last spoke to her husband Christmas Day for about 15 minutes. 

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"He was obviously trying hard to be in good spirits for Christmas for the kids and I," she said. "But it was a difficult call, obviously, because this has been going on so long.

"He asked me where things were at, if there was progress. And there really was nothing that I could share with him."

In 2024, two released American detainees revealed Ryan Corbett was severely malnourished, was experiencing blackouts and fainting and was being held in a basement cell with almost no sunlight or exercise. 

Anna Corbett said that since then her husband has gained some weight but still experiences constant headaches and ringing in his ears. 

Ryan Corbett was abducted Aug. 10, 2022, after returning to Afghanistan, where he and his family had been living during the collapse of the U.S.-backed government there a year before. 

He arrived in Afghanistan on a valid 12-month visa to pay and train staff as part of a business venture he led aimed at promoting Afghanistan's private sector through consulting services and lending.

Despite the detentions, the U.S. remains the largest financial supporter of Afghanistan, having offered the nation around $3 billion since the 2021 withdrawal. 

The Taliban have long sought the release of Rahim, who has been held at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba since 2008 because the Pentagon believes he was a close associate of bin Laden. 

In November 2023, the Guantánamo Bay prison review board cited Rahim’s work for senior al Qaeda members and his participation in attacks on U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan as reasons to keep him in custody.

Biden has long been intent on closing the Guantánamo Bay prison. On Monday, he announced the transfer of 11 Yemeni detainees, including two former bodyguards of bin Laden, from Guantanamo to Oman, which has agreed to help resettle them. 

Fox News' Greg Norman and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young, the plaintiff in a high-stakes defamation lawsuit against CNN, wrapped up his testimony in dramatic fashion on Thursday when he revealed that he successfully helped at least 22 women escape Afghanistan.

The information came as a surprise to anyone who relies on CNN for news, as Young alleges that CNN smeared him by implying he illegally profited when helping people flee Afghanistan on the "black market" during the Biden administration's military withdrawal from the country in 2021. 

The CNN report at the heart of the lawsuit first aired on "The Lead with Jake Tapper" in November 2021. It featured claims that CNN found "Afghans trying to get out of the country face a black market full of promises, demands of exorbitant fees, and no guarantee of safety or success," but Young’s lead counsel Vel Freedman ended his client’s marathon testimony with questions about what the report did not include. 

NAVY VETERAN WARNED CNN REPORTER HE WOULD ‘SEEK LEGAL DAMAGES’ IF ‘INACCURATE’ STORY WAS PUBLISHED

"Did you and your team successfully evacuate three women for Audible?" Freedman asked. 

"Yes," Young answered. 

"Did you successfully evacuate four women and one baby for Bloomberg?" Freedman asked.

"Yes," Young answered. 

"Did you and your team rescue three women for CivilFleet?" Freedman asked. 

"Yes," Young answered. 

"Did you and your team evacuate 12 women for HEROS?" Freedman asked. 

CIA-TRAINED NAVY VETERAN DETAILS ‘VERY DEVASTATING’ IMPACT CNN SEGMENT HAD ON HIS LIFE: ‘LABELED A CRIMINAL’

"Approximately 12, it might have been 13. I’m just not sure," Young said. 

"Were these successful evacuations of 22 women and a child reported by CNN?" Freedman asked. 

"No, they left that out," Young said. 

"No further questions," Freedman said to end three days of testimony. 

Amazon-owned Audible, Bloomberg, CivilFleet and HEROS are among the companies known as "sponsors" who were paying contractors such as Young to help evacuate people from the region as the Taliban took control. 

Young believes CNN "destroyed his reputation and business" by branding him an illegal profiteer who exploited "desperate Afghans." 

The trial resumes on Friday and will be streamed live on Fox News Digital. 

The Biden administration reportedly has been negotiating with the Taliban to swap three Americans being held in Afghanistan for a Guantanamo Bay prisoner who is alleged to have been a close associate of Usama bin Laden. 

The talks, which have been ongoing since at least July of last year, involve exchanging suspected senior al Qaeda aide Muhammad Rahim al Afghani for American citizens George Glezmann, Ryan Corbett and Mahmoud Habibi, who were detained in Afghanistan in 2022, The Wall Street Journal first reported. A White House official confirmed the report to Fox News.

After the White House proposed that swap in November, the Taliban counteroffered, asking for Rahim and two others in exchange for Glezmann and Corbett, the newspaper reported.  

House Foreign Affairs Committee members told the newspaper that they were later informed by national security adviser Jake Sullivan during a Dec. 17, 2024, classified session that Biden was still mulling the offer. One attendee added that during the meeting, panel chair Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, expressed concern that the Taliban’s counteroffer wasn’t a good deal for the U.S. 

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION SENDS 11 GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEES TO OMAN FOR RESETTLEMENT

"The safety and security of Americans overseas is one of the Biden-Harris Administration’s top priorities, and we are working around the clock to ensure George, Ryan, and Mahmood’s safe return," a National Security Council spokesperson told Fox News on Tuesday.

" Over the last four years, President Biden has brought home over 75 Americans unjustly detained around the world, including Afghanistan, Burma, Gaza, Haiti, Iran, Russia, Rwanda, and Venezuela," they added. "President Biden and his team continue to work, often in partnership with key allies, to negotiate for the release of Americans held hostage or unjustly detained abroad so that they can be reunited with their families, and the Administration will do so throughout the remainder of the term."

Glezmann and Corbett have been declared by the State Department as wrongfully detained, while the Taliban denies holding Habibi, the newspaper says. 

Corbett, a consultant, reportedly was seized in the summer of 2022 while traveling with a German colleague about 300 miles northwest of Kabul. Glezmann, a Delta Air Lines mechanic, was detained by the Taliban in December during a tour of the country, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

Habibi vanished the same year following the U.S. killing of al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul, with the FBI suspecting he was detained by Afghan military or security forces, it added. 

"My family is confident that Mahmoud is alive and remains in the joint custody of the Taliban and the Haqqani network," Ahmad Habibi, a brother of Mahmoud Habibi, told The Wall Street Journal. "We have a lot of evidence. If the Taliban wants Rahim, releasing my brother is their best shot at getting him." 

MILITARY APPEALS COURT RULES SECRETARY OF DEFENSE AUSTIN CANNOT RESCIND 9/11 PLEA DEALS

The families of the detained Americans – who say that Glezmann and Corbett are in failing health – reportedly have been advocating for two years for the Biden administration to help secure their release.  

"I want to take seriously the president’s pledge that returning wrongfully detained Americans is a top priority, but he is running out of time to show these are more than empty words for families like mine that are not famous or well connected," Anna Corbett, Ryan Corbett’s wife, said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal.  

"After all, I haven’t even been able to get a meeting with him despite 16 trips to D.C. to fight for Ryan’s release, so it’s hard to continue to have faith that he will use his power to bring my husband home," she added. 

The newspaper reported that the Taliban has long sought the release of Rahim, who has been held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba since 2008. 

At the time of his transfer there, the Department of Defense alleged that Rahim was a close associate of bin Laden, it added. 

Then in November 2023, the Guantanamo Bay prison review board cited Rahim’s work for senior al Qaeda members and his participation in attacks on U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan as reasons to keep him in custody, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

Rahim reportedly wrote a letter that year to the board describing himself as older and in poor health, while adding that if he is released he would like to pursue his love of cooking and possibly open a food truck or booth. 

"I am confident that the United States does not fear that I would return to a battlefield that no longer exists," The Wall Street Journal cited him as saying. 

The developments come as the Biden administration on Monday announced the transfer of 11 Yemeni detainees, including two former bodyguards for bin Laden, being held at a U.S. naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba to Oman, which has agreed to help re-settle them, amid steps to reduce the population at the controversial military facility. 

Fox News' Louis Casiano and Patrick Ward contributed to this report.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he wouldn't make any apologies for ending the war in Afghanistan, which left 13 Americans dead and the Taliban in charge, during an interview with The New York Times ahead of the Biden administration's exit.

"I’m not at all sure that the election turned on any one or even a collection of foreign-policy issues. Most elections don’t. But leaving that aside: Americans don’t want us in conflict. They don’t want us in war. We went through 20 years where we had hundreds of thousands of Americans deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. People were tired of that, understandably. Well, when President Biden was vice president, he presided over the end of our engagement in Iraq. As president, he ended the longest war in our history, Afghanistan," he said, responding to a question about the election.

The New York Times spoke to Blinken ahead of his exit from the White House and said that Americans were skeptical of Biden's foreign policy early on due to the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, which left more than a dozen American service members dead and led to the Taliban retaking control. The interviewer asked how the Afghanistan "failure" damaged America's credibility.

BIDEN WHITE HOUSE ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR ‘CHAOS’ IN AFGHANISTAN, SAYS IT IS ‘VIGILANT’ ON TERROR THREAT

"First, I make no apologies for ending America’s longest war. This, I think, is a signal achievement of the president’s. The fact that we will not have another generation of Americans fighting and dying in Afghanistan, that’s an important achievement in and of itself," Blinken responded. 

The Times pushed back, noting that the Taliban has made it much harder for women in the country. 

The interviewer said, "In every possible way, the manner in which this was done and the state in which Afghanistan has been left could not have been what the United States desired."

"There was never going to be an easy way to extricate ourselves from 20 years of war. I think the question was what we were going to do moving forward from the withdrawal. We also had to learn lessons from Afghanistan itself," Blinken added.

The Biden administration was hit with pushback after the chaotic withdrawal. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan even reportedly offered to resign over the decision, according to The Washington Post's David Ignatius.

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Sullivan also reportedly had concerns about the exit, but ultimately said it would have been challenging no matter what they did.

"You cannot end a war like Afghanistan, where you’ve built up dependencies and pathologies, without the end being complex and challenging," Sullivan told the Post columnist. "The choice was: Leave, and it would not be easy, or stay forever."

He added that "leaving Kabul freed the [United States] to deal with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in ways that might have been impossible if we had stayed."

Ignatius reported that the Afghanistan withdrawal "broke the early comity" of the Biden administration's national security team, and created a riff between Sullivan and Blinken.