Last Updated on 04/09/2024 by Arun jain
WASHINGTON – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, on Tuesday subpoenaed Secretary of State Anthony Blinken for further testimony on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and threatened to hold him in contempt. of Congress If he doesn’t.
In a letter addressed to Blinken, McCall noted that in May he had requested the secretary to attend the September hearing. At the time McCaul had just announced that a GOP-led committee would investigate the “Biden-Harris administration’s fatal withdrawal from Afghanistan.”
“The committee has provided extraordinary accommodation in its multiple requests and communications to finalize a date that fits your schedule,” McCall wrote to Blinken. “As of today, the department has yet to provide any possible dates for your appearance.”
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement Tuesday that Blinken has testified before Congress on Afghanistan more than any other Cabinet member and provided thousands of pages worth of records to the Foreign Affairs Committee.
“The secretary has testified before Congress more than 14 times on Afghanistan — more than any other cabinet-level official,” Miller said. “This includes Chairman McCaul’s four direct appearances before the committee, including an earlier hearing that focused exclusively on Afghanistan, when the department provided the committee with nearly 20,000 pages of department records, multiple high-level briefings, and engaged in transcribed interviews. were The committee is accompanied by about 15 current and former State Department officials.
In his statement, Miller added that Blinken was not available during any of the dates proposed by McCall but offered “reasonable” alternatives to comply with the committee’s request for a public hearing.
“It is disappointing that instead of engaging with the department in good faith, the committee has instead issued yet another unnecessary subpoena,” Miller said.
Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, renewed their attacks on the Biden administration during last month’s anniversary of the US withdrawal and the terrorist attack on Abbey Gate that killed 13 US service members and nearly 170 Afghan civilians at Kabul airport in August 2021.
Trump has blamed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the chaotic withdrawal of US troops, and Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, recently said that Harris “go to hell” Withdrawal up.
A 2023 Biden administration Review Withdrawal concluded that the efforts of both the Trump and Biden administrations were insufficient. A now-retired US commander who oversaw the withdrawal said this year He suffers alone Responsibility for Kabul airport attack.
Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery with relatives of victims killed in the Abbey Gate attack last week. The visit includes an “event” around Section 60, where soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are buried.
A member of Trump’s staff, according to the Army “suddenly pushed aside” A cemetery employee so Trump and his campaign could take photos and videos, which are normally prohibited in that section. Trump’s team has disputed the Army’s account.
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