Former Nazis should not be getting the Social Security benefits they are receiving as they age overseas, the White House said Monday, responding to an Associated Press investigation that revealed millions of dollars have been paid to war-crimes suspects and former SS guards who left the US for Europe.
"Our position is we don't believe these individuals should be getting these benefits," said spokesman Eric Shultz when asked about the situation.
He said the Justice Department has said it has "aggressively pursued Nazi war criminals and brought over 100 of them to justice." He added that the department and the Social Security Administration "work together within the confines of current law to cut off benefits for criminals that shouldn't be receiving them."
AP reported Sunday that dozens of Nazi suspects have collected benefits after being forced out of the United States. Though their World War II actions led to their departure, they were not convicted of war crimes.
The payments flowed through a legal loophole that gave the Justice Department leverage to persuade Nazi suspects to leave the US If they agreed to go, or simply fled before deportation, they could keep their Social Security, according to interviews and internal US government records.