McCaul’s subpoena deadline for Afghanistan documents passes without State Department compliance
Mike Brest
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The State Department did not comply with a congressional subpoena for documents related to the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, subpoenaed the department for the dissent cable from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul earlier this year, with the most recent of three deadlines having passed on Monday.
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A State Department spokesperson told the Washington Examiner that Secretary of State Antony Blinken “has continued to make clear his and the State Department’s commitment to working with the House Foreign Affairs committee to provide relevant information while also upholding his responsibility to protect the integrity of the department’s dissent channel.”
At issue is McCaul’s demand for a copy of a July 13, 2021, cable signed by over two dozen U.S. Embassy members in Kabul criticizing the preparations for the withdrawal from Afghanistan, which occurred at the end of August that year, that devolved into chaos. Blinken and the department have refused to provide it, though the spokesperson argued, “We continue to believe that our offers can satisfactorily provide the committee with the information it needs to conduct its oversight function while still protecting the dissent channel.”
The State Department official also referred the Washington Examiner to comments Blinken made to McCaul’s committee in March.
“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,” the secretary said at the time.
The department held a classified briefing for the committee last week, though McCaul had said previously that a briefing would not be sufficient.
“We have communicated with the House Foreign Affairs Committee with an offer that we believe is sufficient for them to conduct their appropriate oversight duty,” State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said during Monday’s briefing. “That has included a written summary of dissent coming out of the embassy in Kabul and others. It has also involved a closed-door classified briefing to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on these topics.”
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“The Committee expressly maintains that such a briefing does not constitute compliance with the subpoena or a suitable accommodation in response to it,” McCaul said in his April 6 letter to Blinken regarding the subpoena.
McCaul has sought various pieces of information and intelligence regarding the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan since gaining the committee gavel in January. The State Department has provided information at times, though not to the chairman’s satisfaction. Last week, he urged the department to release an 87-page After-Action Review from March 2022.