The House Foreign Affairs Committee has issued a subpoena for Secretary of State Antony Blinken to testify on Sept. 19 regarding the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. This follows a previous request by committee chairman Rep. Michael McCaul for Blinken to appear at a hearing on the same topic.
McCaul emphasized Blinken’s role as the final decision-maker for the Department of State during the withdrawal and evacuation process. The committee aims to release its report on the Afghanistan withdrawal on Sept. 9 after a three-year investigation.
During a previous discussion, McCaul gave Blinken additional time to confirm a hearing date, but the State Department failed to provide one. Blinken defended the department’s response to the withdrawal during a May hearing, stating that they have cooperated with oversight efforts and facilitated interviews with administration officials involved in the process.
The State Department previously declined to hand over a dissent channel cable related to the withdrawal but allowed the committee to view it after a subpoena was issued. McCaul stated that the dissenters in the cable were correct and that the administration should have listened to them.
The State Department has not provided a comment on the matter at this time. Please rewrite this sentence.
Source link