House committee subpoenas Blinken over deadly Afghanistan withdrawal
The deadly withdrawal was capped by the deaths of 13 U.S. military service members, Taliban return to power
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}House lawmakers subpoenaed Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday over his alleged refusal to testify about the Biden administration's deadly 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee said Blinken must appear before the committee on Sept. 19 or face contempt charges, the committee said in a letter written by Republican Chairman Michael McCaul, of Texas.
"It is disappointing that instead of continuing to engage with the Department in good faith, the Committee instead has issued yet another unnecessary subpoena," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement, Reuters reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks during a NATO public forum as part of the 2024 NATO Summit on July 10, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department.
In May, McCaul asked Blinken to appear at a hearing in September on the committee's report on its investigation of the withdrawal from Afghanistan. The State Department failed on several occasions to provide a date for Blinken to appear before lawmakers, McCaul said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Current and former State Department officials confirmed that Blinken was "the final decisionmaker" on the withdrawal and evacuation, McCaul said in his letter.
"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," he wrote.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}U.S. Air Force loadmasters and pilots assigned to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron load passengers aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III in support of the Afghanistan evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) on Aug. 24, 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Getty Images)
"You are therefore in a position to inform the Committee’s consideration of potential legislation aimed at helping prevent the catastrophic mistakes of the withdrawal, including potential reforms to the Department’s legislative authorization," McCaul added.
The committee has been investigating the chaotic withdrawal, which ended with 13 U.S. military service members killed, for years.
Former President Donald Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery last month and took part in a wreath-laying ceremony honoring the 13 military members. Trump and Republicans have long criticized President Biden over the withdrawal, which saw the Taliban retake Afghanistan following 20-plus years of U.S. occupation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Republican presidential nominee former President Trump stands alongside Bill Barnett (L), whose grandson Staff Sgt Darin Taylor Hoover died in the Abbey Gate Bombing, during a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Aug. 26, 2024 in Arlington, Virginia. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The parents of the deceased service members "lost a child because of Biden and because of Kamala, just as though they had a gun in their head because it was so badly handled," Trump told podcaster Lex Fridman on Tuesday, the New York Post reported.