Obama order clears way for private ransom payments

WASHINGTON — President Obama unveiled new rules Wednesday that would basically allow families to offer private ransom payments for relatives kidnapped overseas.

While the federal government will continue to refuse to make ransom payments, Obama and other officials said families will no longer be threatened with prosecution if they seek to do so privately.

"I'm making it clear that these families are to be treated like what they are -- our trusted partners and active partners in the recovery of their loved ones," Obama said in announcing the changes from the White House.

All too often, the families of hostages -- some of whom have died in captivity — have been treated like "afterthoughts" or bullied by public officials, Obama said. "These families have already suffered enough," he said, "and they should never feel ignored or victimized by their own government."

Obama signed an executive order creating a new office to deal with hostage families, including the facilitation of communication with terrorist groups that could theoretically be used to organize ransom payments.

There are currently more than 30 American hostages being overseas, said White House counter-terrorism adviser Lisa Monaco.

In his remarks, Obama said that since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, more than 80 Americans have been kidnapped by "murderous groups engaged in terrorism or piracy." Of those, more than half have been released, "some after many years," he said. The rest have died.

A White House statement said that, in the future, officials would work with families "on exploring all appropriate options to ensure the safe recovery of their loved ones," and that the Justice Department "does not intend to add to families' pain in such cases by suggesting that they could face criminal prosecution."

While it is illegal for private citizens to pay ransoms, Obama stressed that no family member has ever been prosecuted for trying to do so.

The law banning "material support" to terrorist groups — including money — remains intact, and Obama and other officials have repeatedly said that ransom payments would only encourage more kidnappings.

Given this concern, some lawmakers expressed skepticism about a new policy that would essentially permit private ransom payments, saying they too might encourage more hostage taking.

"We have had a policy in the United States for over 200 years of not paying ransom and not negotiating with terrorists," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "The concern that I have is that by lifting that long-held principle you could be endangering more Americans here and overseas"

Obama — who held a "very emotional" meeting with families of hostages earlier in the day — said he has heard their protests about government treatment, and he pledged to do better.

"My message to these families was simple," Obama said. "We're not going to abandon you. We will stand by you."

The new rules on dealing with families of hostages result from a review Obama ordered after the killing of hostages by the Islamic State.

FBI Deputy Director Mark Giuliano said the new policy provides "accountability and consistency'' that has too often been lacking in an already difficult task.

"The families just want more of a voice and they want more information,'' Giuliano told USA TODAY. Although the directive still prohibits the government from directing ransom payments, the deputy director said U.S. officials would not "abandon'' families who raise their own funds and engage in private negotiations with kidnappers.

Still, Giuliano acknowledged that the policy leaves a "gray area'' where U.S. officials may work to reduce the risk involved in those private negotiations by evaluating possible intermediaries and steering families away from possible "traps'' that could endanger them or their loved ones.

"We can provide information to the families and lay out possible consequences of their decisions,'' Giuliano said. "Would we attempt to dissuade them from making ransom payments? Obviously we would.

"But in the end, any decision to make a payment would be a family decision,'' Giuliano said. "We cannot do it; it crosses line that we cannot cross."

In dealing with the families of hostages, the administration said in its statement it will now apply a "new paradigm that emphasizes continual collaboration between the Government and families in the safe recovery of their loved ones."

The goal, it said, is to "demonstrate to families with its actions that the safe recovery of their loved ones is the government's top priority in these cases."

The administration also announced organizational changes to accommodate the new rules, including a "Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell" that includes a person dedicated to coordinating family support from the government.

"This coordinator will ensure that we communicate with families better," Obama said, "with one clear voice."