Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been held in contempt by the House Foreign Affairs Committee for skipping a public hearing on the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
He is the third Biden administration official to be formally reprimanded by Congress.
In June, Attorney General Merrick Garland was found guilty of contempt of Congress for refusing to hand over audio tapes of Joe Biden in which he appeared as an “old man.” The Justice Department declined to prosecute its leader, ending the case.
And earlier this year, the House of Representatives approved two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the southern border crisis, which the Senate rejected.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee has sought to bring in the top diplomat following his handling of the military and civilian disaster that killed 13 American soldiers and hundreds of Afghans and has been compared to the fall of Saigon during the Vietnam War.
Chairman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, led the rebuke of Blinken after the agency “mischaracterized the accommodations” it gave to the secretary, who “ignored the committee for months.”
The president called Blinken’s testimony a “vital component” to his investigation into the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan and the “department’s shortcomings during that period.”
Blinken is currently in New York City attending meetings related to the UN General Assembly.
A plaque bearing the name of Secretary of State Antony Blinken is displayed during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan
A damning congressional investigation released earlier this month reveals a catalogue of mistakes and missed opportunities during the exit from Afghanistan.
President Joe Biden has pushed ahead with his plan to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan despite multiple warnings of devastating consequences, he says.
It also reveals how Washington’s top official in Kabul went on vacation even as the Taliban closed in on the capital.
And he accuses Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their officials of prioritizing politics and image over operational needs, such as planning an emergency evacuation of civilians.
The resulting chaos, with tens of thousands of foreigners and Afghans crowding into Kabul airport after the Taliban seized the city in August 2021, triggered the Biden administration’s first crisis.
And it all turned to tragedy when a suicide bomber killed 13 US soldiers and about 170 Afghans.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Tuesday that if the committee drafts contempt charges — which, if approved, would be sent to the Justice Department for further action — he is “confident” the House will vote on them.
Hundreds of people gather near a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane on the perimeter of Kabul International Airport, Afghanistan, August 16, 2021.
Blinken, who is currently attending the UN General Assembly, did not attend the hearing and committee chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) voted to hold Blinken in contempt of Congress.
Blinken wrote to the committee in a Sunday letter obtained by Politico that he was “deeply disappointed” that McCaul declined other proposed dates to testify.
“The events of this week were planned many months ago, and the dates of the high-level week of the General Assembly have long been publicly noted,” he said.
“I think you will agree that U.S. representation at the highest levels in these engagements is essential. In addition, I remain willing to be available to testify after my return from my trip.”
But his excuses did not convince McCaul, who has been demanding that he hand over crucial documents for months.
During Tuesday’s Foreign Affairs meeting, McCaul explained in detail how Blinken’s absences have risen to the level of meriting a contempt charge.
“I wish we weren’t here today. Yet Secretary of State Antony Blinken brought this on himself.”
‘After months of the Secretary ignoring countless requests for his testimony, I was forced to subpoena him to comment on my findings regarding the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“Let the record show that for four months I have patiently awaited his availability in September, but instead of working with me, Secretary Blinken made false promises.”
He said he asked Blinken to testify before the agency in May, but after a month of back-and-forth with the secretary’s team, his requests went unanswered.
During Tuesday’s Foreign Affairs meeting, McCaul explained in detail how Blinken’s absences have risen to the level of meriting a contempt charge.
McCaul even recounted a phone call he had with Blinken in which the secretary confirmed that a date for testimony would be arranged that week.
The president then described how he never received a response after the call.
“He’s politicizing the withdrawal from Afghanistan,” McCaul said of Blinken’s absence.
But the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., was quick to point out that Blinken was busy traveling and that the contempt hearing looked more like “political theater.”
“The secretary has made it clear time and time again that he is willing to testify,” Meeks said at the start of the meeting.
‘Secretary Blinken has resorted to food faith to reach a compromise to comply with the President’s subpoena to testify again.’
Taliban fighters celebrate one year since they took over the Afghan capital Kabul in front of the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, oversees a hearing on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan where the witness, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, did not appear to testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on September 24, 2024.
Meeks said Blinken spoke with McCaul by phone in mid-August and September to find a date to testify, but they were unable to reach a decision.
Blinken even offered alternative witnesses to testify in his place.
Still, the hearing with Blinken in attendance failed to materialize despite the committee’s efforts.
And a State Department spokesman criticized the Republican Party for moving forward with its hearing on Tuesday.
“Today’s action by the House Foreign Affairs Committee was a blatant political exercise disguised as oversight, designed only to advance the majority’s partisan interests under the guise of asking questions that have long since been answered,” the spokesperson told DailyMail.com.
‘Rather than accept our offer to have the Secretary testify at a later date or to have an alternative witness testify today, Chairman McCaul chose to move forward with a divisive and partisan vote. Sadly, it is clear that the President is more interested in seeking headlines than in conducting real oversight.’
It remains unclear when the House will consider the contempt charge for a full vote, despite Johnson’s insistence that it will happen.
