Barack Obama actually said...

"One is very positive and one is not so much. What I can say is this is a serious business."

"We do not pay Ransom for hostages."

"The notion that we would somehow start now in this high-profile way and announce it to the world even as we're looking into the faces of other hostage families whose loved ones are being held hostage ..."

"We announced these payments in January. Many months ago, there wasn't a secret. We announced them to all of you. Josh did a briefing on them. This wasn't some nefarious deal. We do not pay ransom for ..."