"During the hostage crisis, in Iran, the radical hostage takers, discovered some activities, that the U.S. had been up to, and blackmailed us, in exchange for the release of the hostages, during Reagan's swearing in." GfS

Hmmm. I'm trying to understand: You mean: Iran held hostages, they knew something about us and blackmailed us by releasing the hostages? Hmmmm. How does that work? There appears to be something missing in the transaction. When you blackmail somebody, they are supposed to pay,