Top Republican Michael McCaul rekindles threat to hold Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress for ‘terrible obstruction’ as he seeks accountability for deadly Afghanistan withdrawal more than two years later

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stepped up again to thwart Republicans in the House of Representatives seeking documents that could provide answers to Afghanistan’s disastrous withdrawal nearly two and a half years later.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, reiterated his previous threats to take legal action against Blinken, saying he has “obstructed” Congress’ many requests for documents.

“It is appalling that more than two years after the deadly and chaotic withdrawal, the department continues to choose politics over policy,” McCaul wrote in a letter exclusively obtained Monday by DailyMail.com.

He says his committee will “pursue” him in contempt of Congress if he fails to provide the AAR (after-action review) team’s interview notes by March 6.

The GOP chairman is specifically demanding AAR files from those most closely involved in the chaotic withdrawal, which will help Republicans complete their investigation and shape legislation to prevent the ‘catastrophic mistakes’ from ever happening again to provide ‘access to the truth’.

If McCaul follows through on his threat, it will be the first time in American history that a secretary of state has disrespected Congress.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul reiterates his previous threats to take legal action against Blinken after ‘obstructing’ Congress’ requests for documents

The Americans killed in the blast were: (from left to right, starting with top row) Cpl. Daegan W. Page – Sergeant. Johanny Rosario Pichardo – Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover – Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza – Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum – Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui – Cpl. Hunter Lopez – Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz – Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss – Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez – Marine Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak – Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola – Sergeant. Nicole L. Gee

McCaul says his committee followed the AAR team’s interview notes “in good faith and with every effort to compromise.”

But, he continued, the department “failed to negotiate in good faith and to comply with the committee’s July 2023 subpoena and to honor your personal commitment on August 11 to cooperate with this investigation.” come.’

Once again, he emphasized the “legislative need for these primary source documents.”

McCaul writes that department officials told his committee that Assistant Secretary for Management and Resources Rich Verma had “personally reviewed” the AAR notes.

But they say they are currently being withheld by the White House and National Security Council.

“The officials have been advised that this decision is now above their ‘salary level’,” he stated in the letter obtained by DailyMail.com.

Republicans are still pushing to hold the Biden administration accountable after the hasty exodus from Afghanistan in 2021, in which 13 U.S. service members and at least 170 Afghans were killed.

Furthermore, the family members of the thirteen US troops killed are still demanding answers as no Biden administration official has taken blame for the horrors that occurred during the withdrawal.

McCaul says the documents are needed to “prevent the catastrophic mistakes of the withdrawal from happening again.”

The back and forth between McCaul and the State Department has been going on for months.

McCaul first subpoenaed the department for the AAR documents on July 18.

He called the department’s response to that subpoena “anemic” and unacceptable.

McCaul and Blinken spoke on the phone on August 11, with the secretary “personally” promising to provide the chairman with the information he was looking for.

But now the committee’s patience has run out, McCaul continues in the letter.

Last year, the committee postponed detaining Blinken for contempt of Congress on a separate matter — after he agreed to allow the committee’s leadership to see a secret derogatory cable that State Department employees had sent ahead of the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul on July 13, 2021.

The cable warned of a “deteriorating” security situation and urged the immediate evacuation of allies, a warning the Biden administration failed to heed, Republicans say.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul reiterates his previous threats to take legal action against Blinken

The committee had asked Naz Durakoglu, deputy secretary of the Bureau of Legislative Affairs, and Richard Visek of the Office of the Legal Counsel to attend transcribed interviews.

Last July, the State Department quietly released an 87-page report condemning his government’s failure to prepare for the Taliban’s rapid collapse of Afghanistan in 2021.

The study revealed serious leadership pitfalls, as well as questions about who was in charge before and during the chaos

“Both President Trump and President Biden’s decisions to end the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan had serious consequences for the viability of the Afghan government and its security,” the report said.

‘These decisions are beyond the scope of this review, but the (evaluation) team found that insufficient consideration was given during both administrations to the worst-case scenarios and how quickly they could follow.’

It also outlined several strategic failures as the Taliban overran cities – saying not enough attention was paid to “worst-case scenarios”.

As a result, thousands of allies who helped the US in the war were left behind, and chaos ensued at Hamid Karzai International Airport as men, women and children desperately tried to flee.

Although planning for the evacuation of Kabul had begun “some time” in advance, the State Department was “hampered by the fact that it was unclear who within the ministry was in charge.”