Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is preparing his committee to move forward with a contempt of Congress indictment against Secretary of State Antony Blinken on May 24, after the State Department is expected to pass a deadline to an important document related to the withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.
The committee is specifically seeking a classified telegram of dissent sent by US State Department officials ahead of the Taliban takeover on July 13, 2021. The telegram warned of a “deteriorating security situation” and urged the immediate evacuation of allies, a warning the Biden administration was heeding, Republicans say.
Blinken is expected to miss the deadline of Thursday, May 11, 6 p.m. ET to hand over the document, or legal proceedings against him would be initiated immediately.
McCaul told DailyMail.com on Thursday that proceedings could begin as early as May 24.
“We’ve given them plenty of time. Three extensions of time we’ve tried to resolve this, but unfortunately it doesn’t look like that’s going to work and the next step will be to move to contempt proceedings,” McCaul said.
“We intend to hold a meeting of my committee on May 24, to treat the Secretary contemptuously, and move it to the floor for a full House vote.”
The chairman also called it “interesting” that it is the “first time in history that the secretary of state has been scorned by Congress.”
A State Department spokesman did not respond to DailyMail.com’s request that they provide the requested telegram to the committee before the deadline.
In August 2021, 13 US military personnel and 170 others were killed near Hamid Karzai International Airport after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device. In addition, thousands of US citizens and allies of the United States who were unable to evacuate quickly remained in the country after the Taliban quickly took the capital, Kabul.
The committee led by McCaul is looking into the Biden administration’s role in the deadly pullout, which he previously called a “stunning failure” of leadership.
State Secretary Blinken must comply with a summons no later than 11 May
McCaul writes in the letter that the information that the State Department has transferred to the committee is “insufficient.”
“The American people and the veterans and the Gold Star families are right to know what was the thinking in the embassy at the time to take the extraordinary measure to deviate from policy,” McCaul told DailyMail.com.
He added that he “does not particularly enjoy” pursuing legal proceedings, but it is not a political statement as he is an advocate for veterans and the Gold Star families.
“We also want to see Secretary-Secretary Blinken’s response to the anomalous telegram to see what the state of mind was like a month before the debacle and collapse of Afghanistan, which culminated in the killing of 13 military personnel,” he continued.
In a letter to Blinken last Friday obtained by DailyMail.com, McCaul, R-Texas, wrote that as part of the commission’s investigation, Blinken must hand over the cable in its entirety by May 11.
His request comes after a subpoena was issued to Blinken on March 28 requesting the “divergent cable,” along with other documents and communications from the Biden administration regarding the pullout.
The department issued a classified briefing on April 27, which Republicans on the committee said fell short of many of the demands they had made.
A spokesman for the State Department denounced McCaul’s move in a statement last week.
“It is regrettable that despite receiving a secret briefing on the dissent cable and a written summary, the House Foreign Affairs Committee continues to pursue this unnecessary and unproductive action,” spokesman Vedant Patel said.
“Nevertheless, we will continue to respond to appropriate oversight questions and provide Congress with the information it needs to do its job, while protecting the ability of State Department employees to do theirs,” Patel continued in a statement. .
However, McCaul writes in the letter that the information that the State Department passed on to the committee has been “insufficient.”
“The Department provided the committee with about a one-page summary of the dissent cable, as well as a summary of the official response from the Department of just under one page,” McCaul says.
“The ministry has confirmed that the original cable dissent was a total of four pages long, meaning the summary was 75% less than the original cable.”
As a result, the agency “is now in breach of its legal obligation to provide these documents and must do so immediately.”
“As noted above, if the Department fails to meet its legal obligation, the Committee is prepared to take any necessary steps to enforce its subpoena, including holding you in contempt of Congress and/or initiating civil enforcement proceedings. ‘
If Blinken is scorned before Congress, President Biden’s Justice Department would have the option to proceed with legal proceedings — but it is unlikely to take action against him.
Hundreds of people gathered at a US Air Force C-17 transport plane at the edge of the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 16, 2021
Other cabinet-level secretaries who have been held contemptuous of Congress — including Trump-era Attorney General Eric Holder, Bill Barr Obama — but never had a secretary of state in history.
McCaul pushed back the deadline for Blinken to comply with the subpoena several times.
The first deadline was April 1, then April 21, May 1 and now May 11 after discussions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The chairman also accused the Biden administration of “misleading the public” into releasing several “summary” documents related to the withdrawal.