McCaul says Blinken trying to ‘stonewall’ Afghanistan subpoena for key withdrawal doc as hearings begin
Sec Antony Blinken has failed to address concerns officials have about President Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Secretary of State Antony Blinken has shown no signs of complying with the Wednesday deadline for a congressional subpoena to supply documents relating to President Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan, Republican lawmakers say.
Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, subpoenaed the State Department to supply a dissent cable from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, a document that would have contained any concerns about Biden's withdrawal plans from officials on the ground in Afghanistan. The State Department offered to give McCaul and other lawmakers a briefing on the document but has so far refused to provide the document itself.
"If [Blinken] doesn’t comply with the subpoena, then it takes it into litigation," McCaul told Punchbowl News on Tuesday. "Honestly, I think they’re trying to stonewall this until the end of this Congress."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The State Department's refusal to cooperate with the subpoena comes as the House Oversight Committee will begin its own set of hearings on the Afghanistan withdrawal Wednesday.
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken has refused to comply with a Congressional subpoena for documents relating to President Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Blinken stated at a hearing in March that the State Department would never release the dissent cable, arguing that doing so would risk the authenticity of future cables.
"It is vital to me that we preserve the integrity of that process and of that channel, that we not take any steps that could have a chilling effect on the willingness of others to come forward in the future, to express dissenting views on the policies that are being pursued," Blinken testified at the time.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, subpoenaed a dissent cable from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul that would have shed light on concerns about Biden's withdrawal plans. (Fox News)
McCaul says he has countered with offers to only view the document in a classified setting, but to no avail.
"Why are they so adamant about not providing these cables even in a classified setting, which I agreed to do?" McCaul asked after filing the subpoena in March. "That raises my suspicion."
The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan was chaotic and deadly, leaving 13 U.S. service members killed in a suicide bombing while protecting the Kabul airport. (AP)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan was chaotic and deadly, despite Biden's vows that the operation would be safe and orderly. Thirteen U.S. service members were killed in a suicide bombing while protecting evacuation efforts at the Kabul airport.
Tens of thousands of Afghan allies were stranded in the country when the U.S. military withdrew, and many Americans were left behind as well.