GOP threatens Blinken contempt charge over Afghanistan docs
Source: Associated Press
GOP threatens Blinken contempt charge over Afghanistan docs
By FARNOUSH AMIRI
May 8, 2023
WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee has threatened to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress if the State Department does not turn over classified cables related to the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, pledged in a letter Friday — obtained by The Associated Press — to escalate the ongoing battle with the State Department over a so-called dissent cable written by diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul shortly before the August 2021 withdrawal. The new deadline for the State Department to respond is Thursday.
The threat is the latest in an already unprecedented effort by McCaul to force the release of sensitive documents to Congress, setting up what could become a constitutional showdown between House Republicans and the Biden administration on the ability of the legislative branch to conduct oversight.
The July 2021 communication in question reportedly warned Blinken about the potential fall of Kabul via a special “Dissent Channel,” which allows State Department officials to issue warnings or express contrarian views directly to senior agency officials.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/blinken-mccaul-afghanistan-withdrawal-kabul-cd16a53b463af4df4b57b9bd27110d4f
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