Sept. 3 (UPI) — House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul on Tuesday issued a subpoena for Secretary of State Antony Blinken to testify later this month on the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, threatening to hold him in contempt if he refuses.
Republicans of the committee have been officially investigating the 2021 withdrawal of the U.S. military from Afghanistan since January of last year, and McCaul states he has repeatedly sought Blinken’s testimony on the matter.
In a letter addressed to Blinken on Tuesday, McCaul said has asked the United States’ top diplomat to sit for testimony since May and that the State Department has yet to provide any potential dates for him to do so.
McCaul said his testimony will be used to inform the committee on “potential legislation aimed at helping prevent the catastrophic mistakes of the withdrawal, including potential reforms to the department’s legislative authorization.”
“The Committee is holding this hearing because the Department of State was central to the Afghanistan withdrawal and served as the senior authority during the August non-combatant evacuation operation (NEO),” he said in the letter.
“As Secretary of State throughout the withdrawal and NEO, you were entrusted to lead these efforts and to secure the safe evacuation of Americans and Afghan allies.”
Because of the State Department’s “unresponsiveness,” the committee has issued a subpoena compelling Blink to testify at a hearing scheduled for Sept. 19, McCaul said.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller rebuked the accusations in a statement saying that Blinken has testified before Congress concerning the Afghanistan withdrawal more than 14 times, more than any other Cabinet-level official, including four times before McCaul’s committing.
“The Department has provided the Committee with nearly 20,000 pages of Department records, multiple high-level briefings, and engaged on transcribed interviews of nearly 15 current and former State Department officials with the Committee,” Matthew said in the statement, NBC News reported.
The spokesman added that Blinken is not available for when the committee has compelled the secretary of state’s testimony and that they have offered alternatives.
“It is disappointing that instead of continuing to engage with the Department in good faith, the Committee instead has issued yet another unnecessary subpoena,” he said.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., the ranking Democrat of the Foreign Affairs Committee, issued a statement last week responding to McCaul’s threats to subpoena Blinken. He described the threat as a political stunt that shows “the Republican party’s desperation to score headlines during an election season.”
“After two years and no new facts, House Republicans are once again grasping for headlines at the expense of real substance,” Meeks said.
The subpoena was issued a week following the third anniversary of the withdrawal.
The withdrawal from January 2020 to August 2021 was initiated by the administration of Donald Trump and completed under the Biden administration.
Some 124,000 Afghans, including 6,000 U.S. citizens, were evacuated from the country along with the exit of the U.S. military from the Middle Eastern country.
During the withdrawal, 13 U.S. service members and more than 100 Afghans were killed in the bombing of Kabul’s international airport.
Amid the withdrawal, Taliban seized control of the country, which it still maintains.
An official report investigating the withdrawal published last month found fault with both administrations.
“The decisions of both President Trump and President Biden to end the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan had serious consequences for the viability of the Afghan government and its security,” the After Action Review states.
“Those decisions are beyond the scope of this review, but the AAR team found that during both administrations there was insufficient senior-level consideration of worst-case scenarios and how quickly those might follow.”
