State Department spokesperson says Malley 'remains on leave' from his post
'Israel needs to take the gloves off,' GOP rep says
GOP Reps. Max Miller and Brian Mast discuss the war in Israel and the latest about suspended Iran special envoy Robert Malley.
President Biden’s embattled former U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley has been catapulted into the spotlight again for his previous efforts to normalize relations with the U.S.-designated terrorist movement Hamas, which has massacred more than 1,200 Israelis, including at least 27 Americans.
Biden said Monday that American citizens were likely taken hostage by Hamas. When Malley was suspended for reportedly mishandling classified information in June, his contacts with Hamas were scarcely addressed.
At the time, Malley confirmed that his clearance was being investigated but said he was confident about a positive outcome.
"I have been informed that my security clearance is under review. I have not been provided any further information, but I expect the investigation to be resolved favorably and soon. In the meantime, I am on leave," Malley told Fox News.
Speaking on "Fox and Friends" Tuesday, Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., said the "State Department gives no information on Malley, why his departure, why his security clearance has been revoked. We do know that there has been staff that has been accused of working on Iranian information campaigns."
Asked about the status of the investigation, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement that "Rob Malley remains on leave, and we have no further comment. The Department does not comment on individual security clearances."
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Robert Malley, the Biden administration's special envoy for Iran, has been catapulted into the spotlight again for his previous efforts to normalize relations with the U.S.-designated terrorist movement Hamas. (Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images / File)
After working in the Clinton administration, and prior to his service with Biden, Malley spoke with officials from Hamas and also penned a 2006 Time magazine piece, "The U.S.'s policy in the Middle East is flawed. Here's how to fix it," in which he wrote, "Today the U.S. does not talk to Iran, Syria, Hamas, the elected Palestinian government or Hezbollah. … The result has been a policy with all the appeal of a moral principle and all the effectiveness of a tired harangue."
The U.S. government has classified Iran’s regime as the world’s worst international state sponsor of terrorism and designated Hamas and the Lebanese-based Hezbollah movement as terrorist organizations. Iran’s regime aided Hamas, according to Israel’s government, in its slaughter of Israelis and Americans on Saturday.
In a 2009 documentary interview, Malley said it was "a mistake to only think of them in terms of their terrorist violence dimension," referring to Hamas, Hezbollah and the Sadrist Movement in Iraq, noting that they "are social and political movements, probably the most rooted movements in their respective societies."
"There's so much misinformation about them. … I speak to them and my colleagues speak to them [Hamas], and now we may disagree with them, but they have their own rationality … none of them are crazies," Malley said in the film titled "Cultures of Resistance." Malley was the program director for the Middle East and North Africa division of the International Crisis Group.
He also said about Hamas that "It has a charity organization, a social branch; it’s not something you can defeat militarily either, and people need to understand that."
A man walks through debris after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Oct. 10, 2023. (AP / Fatima Shbair)
When Fox News Digital asked the State Department spokesperson if Malley had defended or promoted Hamas, they responded, "The United States government designated Hamas as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1997."
Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., noted on X, formerly Twitter, that after the envoy's suspension, "Malley’s contacts with Hamas & other extremist groups raised concerns in the past. Knowing his background & views, why did @Potus and & @SecBlinken select Malley for this sensitive position in the first place?"
The foreign espionage allegations against Malley and his Iran team have elevated concern about his contacts with Hamas due to its coordination with Iran to launch a scorched earth war against the Jewish state.
Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn. (Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty Images / File)
Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, criticized Malley by saying he "is a fellow traveler of the Iranian regime and a loyalist of the Iranian regime and defends Hezbollah and Hamas."
Diker continued, "Malley led us into this ISIS-like alley that the Jewish people have not seen since the Holocaust."
Fox News Digital sent questions to Robert Malley with regard to the status of the investigation, his past comments and contacts with Hamas.
Benjamin Weinthal reports on Israel, Iran, Syria, Turkey and Europe. You can follow Benjamin on Twitter @BenWeinthal.
