Global Courant 2023-05-09 00:05:17
Secretary of State Antony Blinken could soon be charged with contempt of Congress after his office ignored multiple subpoenas for documents from the Republican-led House Oversight Committee.
Mike McCaul, chairman of House Oversight, R-Texas, says Blinken and the State Department have exceeded multiple deadlines to provide documents related to President Biden’s failed withdrawal from Afghanistan in recent months. He is now threatening to contempt the top Biden official if he continues to refuse to provide the documents.
“The Department is now in violation of its legal obligation to provide these documents and must do so immediately,” McCaul wrote in a Monday statement. “Should the Department fail to comply with its legal obligation, the Committee is prepared to take any necessary steps to enforce its subpoena, including contempt of Congress and/or initiating civil enforcement proceedings.”
McCaul and his fellow Republicans are seeking access to a dissenting report from the U.S. embassy in Kabul that dates from just before Biden’s withdrawal plans were put in motion. Dissent reports spell out any doubts US officials may have with a current action plan.
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s department has failed to respond to congressional subpoenas for documents related to President Biden’s administration, House Republicans argue. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Mike McCaul, has given Secretary Blinken an ultimatum. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Blinken blew past the original deadline to provide the documents in March, then again in April when McCaul pushed the deadline forward. McCaul buried his last line on May 1, and Blinken again refused to provide the documents.
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Instead of complying with the subpoena, the State Department offered to brief McCaul and his committee on the contents of the documents. McCaul accepted the briefing in April, but clarified that it did not amount to complying with the subpoena.
Despite the briefing, McCaul and other Republicans on the committee said they still had unanswered questions that could only be answered by seeing the documents.
“It is unfortunate that, despite having received a secret briefing on the dissent cable and a written summary, the House Foreign Affairs Committee is continuing with this unnecessary and unproductive action,” said deputy ministry spokesman Vedant Patel. of Foreign Affairs Monday. “Nevertheless, we will continue to respond to appropriate oversight questions and provide Congress with the information it needs to do its job, while protecting the ability of State Department employees to do theirs.”
President Joe Biden is under scrutiny over his implementation of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, but his State Department is blocking investigations from House Republicans. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
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The US withdrawal from Afghanistan was one of the low points in Biden’s presidency. While the vast majority of Americans supported the decision to leave the country, they also overwhelmingly disapproved of Biden’s handling of the operation.
Fox News’ Nick Kalman contributed to this report.
Anders Hagstrom is a reporter at Fox News Digital covering national politics and major news events. Send tips to [email protected], or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.
