(TargetLiberty.org) – On Tuesday, Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee filed a subpoena to gain access to documents from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul for the third time.
Secretary of State Tony Blinken was originally supposed to provide the requested documents to Congress in March, however, the deadline was extended by McCaul to April. In his latest letter sent on May 1, McCaul is requesting Blinken his cooperation in providing the documents, which have not yet been handed over.
Specifically, the subpoena targeted a dissent cable from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, a document that would detail any concerns that previously existed about the administration’s withdrawal plan. The State Department has so far refused to comply with the subpoena and has instead provided the committee with a briefing, which was accepted by McCaul but not as a substitute for complying with the subpoena.
On Monday, Vedant Patel, State Department principal deputy spokesman claimed that the State Department had provided a sufficient option for the House Foreign Affairs Committee, that would allow them to complete their oversight duty. He further added that as part of the briefing and documents given, the committee also received a “written summary of dissent coming out of the embassy in Kabul and others.”
The committee however has argued that the information provided was not sufficient to answer all of the questions that they had and noted that some of their concerns and questions could only be addressed through direct access to the documents.
In March, Blinken argued that the State Department would not release the dissent cable under any circumstances as it could risk the authenticity of future cables.
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