Are you sure you want to base things off the
intent of a law? Say, like Obamacare, for example.
Fact is, regardless of how it looks to you or anyone else who has nightmares of Obama, the
Treasury reviewed the payments and said that the DoJ gave their assurance that it met the requirements of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (VTVPA). The Inspector General at the time
stated in his semiannual report to Congress that the payment was made only "after receiving necessary information and authorizations from the Departments of Justice and State.”
Also, for the 100th time, this was Iran's money sent to us for purchasing military equipment. We re-nigged on the deal after the 1979 revolution and never gave the money back. I get the arguments about Iran being a piece of ####, but this was their money + interest (though the interest calculation is strange in the Treasury using annual prime lending rate and simple interest method). It may look bad on its face that it happened the same day as the hostages being sent back home, but it certainly wasn't illegal and passed high-level approval processes before happening.
It should also be noted that Iran has paid out $2.5+ billion to US nationals and companies.
https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/wp...se-Concerns-re-1.7-Billion-Payout-to-Iran.pdf
http://fortune.com/2016/09/07/us-iran-billion-hostages-arms-deal/
http://fortune.com/2016/08/05/money-america-iran/
http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-iran-payment-cash-20160907-snap-story.html