House Committee Subpoenas Blinken Over Afghanistan Withdrawal
WASHINGTON – The House Foreign Affairs Committee hasissued a subpoena to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, demanding his appearance at a hearing onSeptember 24th to testify about the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
The committee, currently chaired by Republican Michael McCaul,has been investigating the chaotic withdrawal for the past three years, seeking to understand the decision-making process and the resulting consequences.
The subpoena, issued on September 18th, states that if Blinken fails to appear, the committee will proceed with a full committee meeting and consider a report recommending that the House find Blinken in contempt of Congress for defying a duly issued subpoena.
This is not thefirst attempt by the committee to compel Blinken’s testimony. Earlier this month, McCaul requested Blinken’s presence at a hearing scheduled for September 19th. However, the State Department responded that Blinken was unavailable on that date.
In a statement, McCaul expressed frustration with the State Department’s continued delay and non-response to the committee’s requests for a hearing date. He emphasized that the committee is investigating the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan and that Blinken, as the ultimate decision-maker in theprocess, is crucial to the investigation.
Therefore, you can inform the Committee that it is considering possible legislative measures to help avoid similar disastrous mistakes in the future, McCaul stated.
The State Department has defended its position, arguing that Blinken has already testified before Congress on the Afghanistan withdrawal on multiple occasions.In a statement, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Blinken has testified before Congress over 14 times, including four times before the Foreign Affairs Committee, with one of those hearings specifically focused on Afghanistan.
Miller added that the State Department has offered alternative arrangements to accommodate McCaul’s request for a public hearingand has provided the committee with nearly 20,000 pages of documents related to the withdrawal.
The subpoena comes amidst a growing political divide over the Afghanistan withdrawal. Earlier this month, House Republicans released a report criticizing the Biden administration’s handling of the withdrawal, arguing that the administration was responsible for thecatastrophic outcome of the war.
The report, which was compiled by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, accused the Biden administration of failing to adequately plan for the withdrawal and of making decisions that led to the chaotic evacuation of US personnel and Afghan allies.
The subpoena issued to Blinken islikely to further escalate tensions between the Biden administration and Republicans in the House. It remains to be seen whether Blinken will comply with the subpoena and appear before the committee.
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