Top Republican threatens subpoena if Blinken doesn’t provide documents on Afghanistan withdrawal

The Republican representative for the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, has warned he will subpoena Secretary of State Antony Blinken if he does not provide the documents requested on the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. The demands come before Blinken is scheduled to testify before Congress later this week.

McCaul accuses President Joe Biden and military leaders of conducting an ill-prepared withdrawal from Afghanistan that ran counter to the recommendations of military leaders and the warnings of diplomatic personnel. Several key questions related to the withdrawal remain unanswered, including those concerning the suicide attack outside the Kabul airport that killed 13 American soldiers and around 200 Afghan civilians.

McCaul initially requested information from Blinken in January, before following up with a specific request for three key items relating to the investigation. Despite repeated calls from the committee, Blinken has not provided the documents in question, prompting McCaul’s warning of a potential subpoena.

The State Department has responded to the initial requests, but is still sifting through the thousands of documents required to provide the required materials. They have promised to provide the documents “as soon as practicable”. Blinken is set to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday to answer questions related to Biden’s proposed budget for the State Department in the next fiscal year.

“The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author of the article and not necessarily shared or endorsed by Conservative News Daily”