(RightIsRight.co) – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul (R-TX) is pressing ahead with a resolution to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt.
This demand is because Blinken did comply with a subpoena about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan three years ago.
McCaul has set September 19th as the resolution markup date, the same day Blinken was ordered to appear.
On Sept. 3, McCaul subpoenaed Blinken over the Biden administration’s handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, which resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members in a suicide bombing at the airport.
In his letter to Blinken, McCaul stated that current and former State Department officials had confirmed Blinken was “the final decision maker” on the withdrawal and evacuation.
“You are therefore in a position to inform the Committee’s consideration of potential legislation aimed at helping prevent the catastrophic mistakes of the withdrawal, including potential reforms to the Department’s legislative authorization,” McCaul wrote.
Moreover, the State Department responded by noting that Blinken has already testified four times before McCaul’s committee and 14 times before Congress overall.
Despite this, McCaul has expanded the investigation, which follows a highly critical three-year probe into the withdrawal.
“This was a catastrophic failure of epic proportions. This is a disgrace, and I will hold him in contempt if that’s what it takes to bring him before the American people, because they deserve the answers,” McCaul said earlier this week.
In addition, a State Department spokesman claimed that Blinken had scheduling conflicts on the dates proposed by McCaul’s panel.
The agency suggested several alternatives to meet McCaul’s request for a public hearing, including offering other senior officials to testify or arranging a later date for Blinken to appear.
Spokesman Matthew Miller added, “It is disappointing that instead of engaging with the Department in good faith and accepting our repeated offers to testify, the Committee instead is short-circuiting further discussion and moving forward with this mark-up.”
After the markup, the full House would need to vote on the resolution and refer it to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for potential prosecution.
Copyright 2024, RightIsRight.co
