White House promises Obama will send belated donation to Kayla Mueller charity

The White House couldn’t explain Friday why President Obama hasn’t donated money to the foundation established in the name of Islamic State hostage victim Kayla Mueller, despite promising her parents 17 months ago that he would contribute.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said he didn’t know what private conversations Mr. Obama had with Kayla’s father, Carl, during a visit to console the grieving family in March 2015. But he said the Obamas likely will donate to the charity soon.

“I would anticipate that they will make a financial contribution,” he said.

The president and first lady Michelle Obama donated about $64,000 in 2015 to 34 charities — nearly 15 percent of their adjusted gross income.

Carl Mueller told ABC News this week that the president hasn’t lived up to his pledge to donate to the foundation, Kayla’s Hands.

“He says I will help that foundation. He says you won’t know, it’ll be an anonymous donation, but I will,” Mr. Mueller said. “I’m still waiting for that donation, Mr. President.”

Mr. Earnest said of the Muellers, “I think the pain and grief that continues to be experienced to this day by Kayla’s parents is entirely understandable.”

Islamist extremists captured Kayla Mueller and her boyfriend, Omar Alkhani, in August 2013 after the couple left a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo, Syria, where Mr. Alkhani was working on the facility’s internet services. The Islamic State fighters beat Mr. Alkhani but released him two months later.

Kayla Mueller was killed in captivity. The cause of her death is unclear; the extremist group said she was killed by a Jordanian airstrike, a claim the U.S. has rejected.

The Muellers also said the Obama administration threatened them with prosecution if they paid a ransom to the Islamic State, a debate which has been renewed in recent weeks with accusations that the administration paid $400 million ransom to Iran to gain the release of four American hostages.