RASC News Agency: Michael McCaul, Chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, has announced that after months of repeated requests, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has refused to testify regarding the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. During a congressional hearing, McCaul stated that he will now move forward with legal action to compel Blinken to appear and review the findings of a report on the “catastrophic” withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“Blinken has defied the subpoena and failed to appear, leaving me with no choice but to initiate legal proceedings,” McCaul stated. He also dismissed claims made by Matthew Miller, who had asserted that Blinken had testified 14 times on matters related to Afghanistan. McCaul firmly responded: “Miller’s claim that Secretary Blinken has testified 14 times before Congress, including four times before my committee, on Afghanistan is simply false. The facts are clear—the Secretary has not once appeared before this committee regarding the investigation.”
McCaul continued: “It’s unfortunate that we find ourselves here today, but Secretary Blinken has forced this situation. It is not something I take pleasure in pursuing.” Over the past two weeks, the House Foreign Affairs Committee summoned Blinken twice to provide testimony about the withdrawal, but the Secretary of State failed to comply on both occasions.
McCaul further accused Blinken of making false promises and politicizing the issue. “Rather than working with me in good faith, Secretary Blinken has offered nothing but empty promises and falsely accused me of politicizing this crucial matter. However, by refusing to testify and allowing this committee to investigate such a serious event, he has made the Afghanistan withdrawal a political issue.”
Earlier, on September 9, McCaul issued a formal summons to Blinken in Congress, emphasizing that the Secretary’s continued absence underscores his prioritization of political optics over legitimate efforts to find legal solutions that could prevent future tragedies of this magnitude.
