House Foreign Affairs Committee Summons Blinken For Testimony On Withdrawal Of Troops From Afghanistan.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee has issued a subpoena for Secretary of State Antony Blinken to testify on September 19 regarding the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

This subpoena comes after a request made on May 22 by Representative Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Chairman of the committee, asking Blinken to appear at a hearing on September 19 to discuss the withdrawal.

In his letter, McCaul pointed out that Blinken, as the final decision maker for the Department, played a crucial role in the withdrawal and evacuation, citing testimonies from current and former State Department officials.

McCaul emphasized the importance of Blinken’s insights in shaping potential legislation to prevent the catastrophic mistakes made during the withdrawal. This could potentially involve reforms to the department’s legislative authorization.

During a discussion held on August 19, McCaul agreed to give Blinken additional time to confirm a hearing date.

However, when contacted by the committee between August 26 and August 30, the State Department failed to provide a scheduled date for the hearing. Instead, they requested a phone call. McCaul expressed his displeasure with the department’s inability to confirm a date in his letter to Blinken.

During the hearing on May 22, Blinken did not commit to appearing before the committee in September.

During that hearing, Blinken defended the State Department’s response to the Afghanistan withdrawal and the aftermath.

“For the Gold Star families, for the president, for me, [and] for everyone involved, we grieve with them—the losses they suffered, including over 20 years in Afghanistan—and we honor their sacrifice,” Blinken said.

Blinken emphasized the importance of answering questions and engaging in oversight to provide the American people with the answers they deserve.

He noted that the department had facilitated more than a dozen interviews between the committee and former and current administration officials involved in the withdrawal, which came after almost 20 years of war in Afghanistan.

According to the committee, the State Department has provided documents related to the withdrawal to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Last year, the department declined a request by the committee to hand over a dissent channel cable about the withdrawal, citing privacy concerns. The dissent channel allows State Department employees to express policy disagreements or criticism to leadership while protecting the author from penalties or reprisals, as defined by the department.

McCaul issued a subpoena, and the department allowed him and the committee to review the document in question.

“Although I cannot disclose the classified information in the cable, I can state that the dissenters were right—and the administration should have listened,” McCaul said in a statement released in May.

The State Department has not provided a comment on this matter.