House Foreign Affairs committee chairman Michael McCaul on Tuesday subpoenaed Secretary of State Antony Blinken to testify about the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, claiming the secretary has refused to testify on his own.
Congress and the State department have been engaged in a battle over the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan for more than a year, which included requests for thousands of documents related to the exit. McCaul previously threatened to hold Blinken in contempt of Congress if he failed to produce subpoenaed documents regarding the withdrawal.
McCaul's new subpoena demands the secretary testifies in front of the committee on Sept. 19, or face contempt.
“The Committee is holding this hearing because the Department of State was central to the Afghanistan withdrawal and served as the senior authority during the August non-combatant evacuation operation (NEO),” McCaul wrote in the letter. “As Secretary of State throughout the withdrawal and NEO, you were entrusted to lead these efforts and to secure the safe evacuation of Americans and Afghan allies.”
McCaul claimed Blinken's testimony was necessary for Congress to pass legislation that would help the U.S. avoid making "catastrophic mistakes" in future withdrawals, because he was a crucial part of the 2021 exit.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Blinken was not available on the committee's dates. Blinken has already testified in front of Congress at least 14 times, including in a hearing that was directly related to the withdrawal.
"The Department has [also] provided the Committee with nearly 20,000 pages of Department records, multiple high-level briefings, and engaged on transcribed interviews on nearly 15 current and former State Department officials with the Committee," Miller told The Hill.
“It is disappointing that instead of continuing to engage with the Department in good faith, the Committee instead has issued yet another unnecessary subpoena," he added.
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