363 American hostages

Has Joe Biden and his administration been lying about his Afghanistan hostage crisis?

Late last week, the State Department informed Congress that 363 American citizens remain in Afghanistan, with 176 actively trying to leave.

State Dept. informed congressional staff Thursday that it is in touch with 363 American citizens in Afghanistan, 176 of whom want to leave, per @jmhansler

That is significantly higher than the estimates of roughly 100 in Aug. which Admin officials regularly cited.

— Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) October 22, 2021

This directly contradicts what administration officials have been claiming for weeks that there are only “about 100” Americans trapped in Afghanistan.

Here’s a rundown:

• August 30: Secretary of State Antony Blinken: “We believe there are still a small number of Americans – under 200 and likely closer to 100 – who remain in Afghanistan and want to leave.”
• August 31: Biden: “Now we believe that about 100 to 200 Americans remain in Afghanistan with some intention to leave.”
• September 5: Chief of Staff Ron Klain: “We believe it's around 100. We're in touch with all of them.”
• September 10: State Department Deputy Spokesperson Jalina Porter: “So again, the situation on the ground is really fluid, and 100 is the number that we have for U.S. citizens.”
• September 13: Blinken: “As of the end of last week, we had about 100 Americans citizens in Afghanistan who had told us that they wished to leave the country.”
• September 27: A Senior State Department Official said there were only “100 American citizens and lawful permanent residents in Afghanistan who are ready to leave.”
• September 28: Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin: “There are currently fewer than 100 American citizens who want to depart and are ready to leave.”
• October 18: State Department Spokesman Ned Price: “That range has been anywhere from below a 100 – right now it is somewhere in between 100 and 200...”

The new 363 number does not even include lawful permanent residents.

Biden lied about ensuring he would get every American out, his administration touted a disastrous drone strike as “righteous” before learning the facts, and now, we are learning the true number of Americans left in Afghanistan is much higher than Biden claimed.

Biden created this hostage crisis – he owns it – but far from rescuing these Americans, his administration has chosen to lie and lie and lie again.