After months of back-and-forth tensions, the State Department announced on May 17 that it will allow House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Democratic Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) to view a dissent cable from the time of the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
During a briefing at the State Department, principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said the department sent a letter to the committee on May 17 with an offer “to view the dissent cable at the State Department in camera, with appropriate personal information redacted.”
Patel went on to say that “Chairman McCaul himself has said that this is what he is interested in, and so it is our sincere hope that our offer here will sufficiently satisfy their request for information.”
The announcement comes as Secretary of State Antony Blinken has repeatedly refused to hand over the cable in accordance with a committee subpoena.
The committee subpoenaed Blinken in March for the cable, which, as The Wall Street Journal first reported, shows the U.S. Embassy in Kabul warning Foggy Bottom about the Taliban quickly gaining ground and the Afghan forces falling apart. They gave suggestions on how to expedite an evacuation and alleviate the situation.
“The cable, dated July 13, also called for the State Department to use tougher language in describing the atrocities being committed by the Taliban,” the Journal reported, citing a person familiar with its contents. The withdrawal was completed on Aug. 30, 2021.
On May 17, McCaul announced a markup holding Blinken in contempt of Congress for not handing over the cable. Whether that will proceed is to be determined.
During the press briefing, Patel lamented the scheduled markup.
“It is unfortunate that the House Foreign Affairs Committee has continued to pursue this even before the State Department had the opportunity to respond to the chairman and the committee,” he said. “We will be sending a response to the committee later today.”
The Epoch Times has reached out to the committee for McCaul’s reaction to the offer and whether the markup will proceed.
“We have a legitimate subpoena. There’s no executive privilege. A dissenting cable of 23 employees out of the embassy before Afghanistan fell stating why they dissented to the administration’s policy is very relevant to congressional oversight,” McCaul told ABC News on May 14.
“We’re trying to work with them. They just sent another letter trying to delay this contempt proceeding.
“But if we don’t get that cable ... I am prepared to move forward to contempt proceedings.”
