Secretary of State Antony Blinken was found guilty of contempt of Congress by the House Foreign Affairs Committee for bypassing a public hearing on the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
He is the third Biden administration official to be formally reprimanded by Congress.
In June, Attorney General Merrick Garland was charged with contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over audio recordings of Joe Biden that depicted him as “elderly.” The Justice Department declined to prosecute its leader, ending the proceedings.
Earlier this year, the House of Representatives approved two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the crisis at the southern border. However, the Senate rejected them.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee wanted to bring in the chief diplomat for his handling of the military and civilian disaster that killed 13 American soldiers and hundreds of Afghans, a disaster that has been compared to the fall of Saigon during the Vietnam War.
Chairman Michael McCaul, Republican of Texas, was the one to reprimand Blinken after the agency “misinterpreted the accommodations” he had given the secretary. McCaul “ignored the commission for months.”
The chairman called Blinken’s testimony a “critical part” of his investigation into the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan and the department’s “failures during that period.”
Blinken is currently in New York City attending meetings of the UN General Assembly.
A name tag of Secretary of State Antony Blinken is displayed during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan
A damning congressional investigation released earlier this month reveals a series of missteps and missed opportunities during the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
President Joe Biden pushed ahead with his plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan despite multiple warnings of devastating consequences, the report said.
It also reveals how Washington’s top official went on vacation in Kabul as the Taliban approached the capital.
And it accuses Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their officials of putting politics and appearance ahead of operational needs, such as planning for an emergency evacuation of citizens.
The chaos that ensued, with tens of thousands of foreigners and Afghans gathering at Kabul airport after the Taliban seized the city in August 2021, led to the first crisis of the Biden administration.
And it turned into tragedy when a suicide bomber killed 13 American soldiers and about 170 Afghans.
Chairman Mike Johnson told reporters Tuesday that if the committee prepares contempt of court charges — and if they pass, they are referred to the Justice Department for further action — he is “confident” the House will bring them up for a vote.
Hundreds of people gather near a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane on the outskirts of the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 16, 2021
Blinken, who is currently attending the UN General Assembly, was not present at the hearing and committee chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) held a vote to impeach Blinken for contempt of Congress
Blinken wrote in a letter to the committee on Sunday, obtained by Politico, that he was “deeply disappointed” that McCaul rejected other proposed dates for testifying.
“This week’s events were planned months ago and the dates of the General Assembly summit week have long been publicly known,” he said.
“I think you will agree that U.S. representation at the highest levels in these engagements is essential. Furthermore, I remain prepared to make myself available to testify after I return from my trip.”
But his apology wasn’t enough for McCaul, who has been demanding for months that he hand over crucial documents.
During Tuesday’s State Department meeting, McCaul detailed how Blinken’s absence has become so severe that he is being held in contempt of court.
“I wish we weren’t here today. But Secretary of State Antony Blinken brought this on himself.”
‘After months of the Secretary ignoring numerous requests for his testimony, I was forced to subpoena him to discuss my findings on the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“Let the record reflect that I waited patiently for four months for his availability in September. But instead of working with me, Secretary Blinken made false promises.”
He pointed to how he had asked Blinken to testify in court in May, but after months of back-and-forth with the secretary’s team, his requests went unheeded.
During Tuesday’s State Department meeting, McCaul detailed how Blinken’s absence has become so serious that a contempt of court charge has been filed.
McCaul even recounted a phone call he had with Blinken in which the secretary confirmed that the testimony would be heard that week.
The chairman then explained that he never heard from him again after the conversation.
“He’s politicizing the withdrawal from Afghanistan,” McCaul said of Blinken’s absence.
But Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was quick to point out that Blinken was busy traveling and that the hearing seemed more like “political theater.”
“The secretary has indicated repeatedly that he is willing to testify,” Meeks said at the start of the meeting.
“Secretary Blinken engaged in food persuasion to reach a compromise and thus comply with the President’s subpoena to testify again.”
Taliban fighters celebrate the one-year anniversary of the capture of the Afghan capital Kabul, in front of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 15, 2022
U.S. Representative Michael McCaul, Republican of Texas and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, oversees a hearing on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, during which the witness, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, failed to appear to testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on September 24, 2024
Meeks claimed that Blinken spoke with McCaul on the phone in mid-August and September to find a date to testify, but that they were unable to reach a decision.
Blinken even offered alternative witnesses to testify in his place.
Despite the committee’s efforts, the hearing at which Blinken was present could not go ahead.
A State Department spokesman criticized the Republican Party for going ahead with the hearing on Tuesday.
“Today’s action by the House Foreign Affairs Committee was an outright political exercise masquerading as oversight and designed only to serve the interests of the majority under the guise of asking questions that have long been answered,” the spokesperson told DailyMail.com.
“Rather than accept our offer that the Secretary testify at a later date or that an alternate witness testify today, Chairman McCaul chose to proceed with a split, partisan vote. Unfortunately, it is clear that the Chairman is more interested in chasing headlines than in actually conducting oversight.”
It remains unclear when the House will take up the contempt of court charge and move to a full vote, despite Johnson’s insistence that it will.