McCaul wants State Dept. to grant full committee access to Afghan dissent cable.

A House Republican is demanding that the State Department provide further access to the July 2021 Dissent Channel cable on the military withdrawal from Afghanistan. And he’s not alone in his call for transparency.

What’s Happening?

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) has asserted that for the State Department to fully comply with the March 28 subpoena from his committee, they must allow all committee members to access the document. Only McCaul and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the committee, have had access to the cable, which the State Department provided on May 23.

Why It Matters

McCaul said in his May 29 letter (pdf), “Reading the original documents has significantly enhanced my understanding of the deteriorating conditions on the ground in Afghanistan and the direness of the dissenting officials’ warnings to the Department’s leadership.”

According to the chairman, after reviewing the cable, he “unequivocally states” that the summary and briefing from the State Department were “not an adequate substitute” for members of his committee having actual access to the documents: “I believe it is essential that every one of the Committee’s Members—Democrat and Republican—have the same opportunity that Ranking Member Meeks and I did to review them.”

What’s Next?

McCaul asserted that the original cable makes it clear what officials were made aware of before making the decision of when and how to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. He also referred to the March subpoena to the State Department, saying that in order to comply with the subpoena and in the interest of allowing his committee their appropriate oversight into the international movements of the executive branch, the State Department must provide access to the documents to all committee members and the American people.

It remains to be seen whether the State Department will comply with McCaul’s request for transparency, but the call for accountability and oversight is an important one.

Key Takeaways

• A House Republican is calling for further access to the July 2021 Dissent Channel cable on the military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
• House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) has asserted that for the State Department to fully comply with the March 28 subpoena from his committee, they must allow all committee members to access the document.
• McCaul believes that every member of the committee should have the same opportunity to review the documents as he and Ranking Member Meeks did.
• The call for transparency and oversight is an important one in holding the executive branch accountable for its actions.