Top Biden officials drag feet on exposing Afghanistan withdrawal docs as GOP deadline looms
Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal left 13 US service members dead and Americans stranded
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Top officials in President Biden's administration are nearing a deadline this week to respond to congressional requests for documents related to the botched U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., sent letters to top officials in January requesting documents detailing the administration's handling of the withdrawal. The officials included Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin; Joint Chiefs of Staff chair Mark Milley; Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; Secretary of State Antony Blinken; USAID administrator Samantha Power, and national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
The deadline to respond to Comer's requests is Friday, March 3.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We are concerned that the Biden administration continues to delay long overdue transparency to the American people about the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal and evacuation," Comer wrote, along with colleagues on the Oversight Committee.
MCCAUL TARGETS CHINA, AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL AS TOP OVERSIGHT PRIORITIES: ‘I HAVE SUBPOENA POWER’
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken face a Friday deadline for providing documents relating to the botched U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. (Getty Images)
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer has requested documents relating to President Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
"With the power of the gavel, Oversight Republicans are determined to provide answers, transparency, and accountability," he continued. "Every relevant department and agency should be prepared to cooperate and provide all requested information. The American people expect nothing less."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MCCAUL TARGETS CHINA, AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL AS TOP OVERSIGHT PRIORITIES: ‘I HAVE SUBPOENA POWER’
The requested documents include contingency plans on the withdrawal; interagency records; communications with NATO leaders regarding troop drawdowns; the posture of terrorist organizations in the months leading to the withdrawal; information on the closure of Bagram airfield, and more.
Comer has yet to receive any substantive responses.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal saw 13 U.S. service members killed by a suicide bomber at the Kabul airport as they defended the U.S. evacuation. Taliban forces also took over the country from the U.S.-backed Afghan government before the U.S. even finished its withdrawal.
The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan was a chaotic and deadly process, costing the lives of at least 13 U.S. service members. (Aamir Qureshi/AFP via Getty Images)
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The Afghanistan investigation is just one of a slew of inquiries congressional Republicans have opened into the Biden administration. Comer and others are also looking into the Biden family's business dealings and the president's mishandling of classified documents, among other things
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Kelly Laco contributed to this report.