Top oversight Republican says Jake Sullivan at 'epicenter' of multiple crises, joins calls for his removal

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FIRST ON FOX: The top Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform is joining a growing chorus of calls for the removal of National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan Friday, accusing him of being at the "epicenter" of failed foreign policy decisions over the last ten years.

"From Benghazi to the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, Jake Sullivan has been at the epicenter of the worst foreign policy crises and decisions over the past decade," Ranking Member on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Kentucky Rep. James Comer, told Fox News. "Given this administration’s tendency to create self-inflicted crises, it’s no surprise Jake Sullivan has been given a top post at the Biden White House."

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UNITED STATES - AUGUST 24: Ranking member Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., questions Postmaster General Louis DeJoy during the House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing titled Protecting the Timely Delivery of Mail, Medicine, and Mail-in Ballots, in Rayburn House Office Building on Monday, August 24, 2020. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images/Pool) (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images/Poo)

Sullivan came under fire earlier this year following the Taliban takeover of Kabul as the U.S. started to remove troops from Afghanistan. 

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The 44-year-old security adviser faced criticism from Republicans and Democrats for the administration’s failure to foresee the rapid collapse of Afghanistan, which led to a hastened and chaotic mass evacuation.

Comer’s calls for the removal of Sullivan is not the first time the president’s security advisor has faced pressure to leave his post. 

Former director of global engagement under the Obama White House, Brett Bruen, called for his dismissal in a USA Today op-ed. "President Biden needs to fire his national security adviser and several other senior leaders who oversaw the botched execution of our withdrawal from Afghanistan," Bruen wrote in August.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Senate Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs member Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., has also called for Sullivan's resignation.

"Jake Sullivan led the interagency process that resulted in the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. Now more than ever, our nation needs leaders who are competent and trustworthy," he told Fox News. "Sullivan has shown himself to be neither and that’s why I’ve been calling for his resignation for months now."

The White House repeatedly backed Sullivan and the entirety of the president’s national security team during the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces. But the rapid collapse of Afghanistan brought renewed attention to Sullivan’s alleged involvement in other political mishaps.

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Earlier this week, Fox News confirmed that Sullivan is the unidentified "foreign policy advisor" referenced in Special Counsel John Durham's indictment of Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann, amid an investigation into the origins of the Russia probe. 

There is no indication that Sullivan is a target of Durham’s investigation, only that he received information from a campaign lawyer. Durham’s indictments have since revealed that the information he received, about an alleged link between the Trump presidential campaign and the Russian bank, which was also fed to the FBI, turned out to be false.

In addition, Sullivan's wife clerked for Attorney General Merrick Garland when he was a D.C. Circuit judge, and is now counsel to Garland at the Department of Justice (DOJ), the agency overseeing the Durham investigation. 

A senior DOJ official confirmed to Fox News on Friday that Jake Sullivan’s wife, Maggie Goodlander, is currently a counsel to Attorney General Garland, but emphasized that she has no connection to the Durham investigation, adding that among her portfolio are issues such as antitrust and international matters.

Sullivan also took center stage in another Clinton controversy – Benghazi. He served as Clinton’s former deputy chief of staff and policy adviser at the State Department during the 2012 attack on U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan calls on a reporter during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The attack, which resulted in the death of four Americans, became a hyper-partisan fight in which Republicans on the Hill sought to hold Clinton responsible. Sullivan testified before the House Select Committee on Benghazi, but it is unclear what role he played in the lead up to the attacks. 

"It is becoming increasingly clear that the 2016 Clinton campaign and DNC were responsible for the Russia hoax - the most destructive political dirty trick in history. That the Biden administration is staffed with people, like Jake Sullivan, who may be connected to this scandal is troubling, but not surprising. Everyone involved needs to be exposed and held accountable," Sen. Ron Jonson, R-Wis. told Fox News in a statement Friday.

The White House National Security Council did not respond to Fox News' request for comment.

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"President Biden needs new leadership to advise him rather than relying upon those who spearheaded failed policies during the Obama Administration," Comer said.  "Oversight Republicans will continue to hold the Biden Administration accountable and investigate instances of waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement."