Union Backs Biden Admin’s Refusal to Produce Subpoenaed Records Over Afghanistan Withdrawal

Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks at the State Department in Washington, on March 28, 2023. Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

A labor union that represents the U.S. Foreign Service expressed support for the Biden administration’s decision not to provide records to Congress that was requested via a subpoena.

The subpoena was issued on Tuesday by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. It requested from the State Department a dissent cable that was sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

On Thursday, the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), which represents the U.S. Foreign Service, said that “use of the Dissent Channel ... must be protected within the executive branch of government,” referring to the confidential way for U.S. diplomats to share concerns with top State Department officials without fear of reprisal or retribution.

Eric Rubin, the president of AFSA, said in the statement that “constructive dissent can only thrive and be successful if it remains confidential and confined to internal discussion within the executive branch.”

Rubin added: “Failure to protect the confidentiality of constructive dissent can lead to a fear of disclosure or retaliation that may dissuade career employees from offering their best professional advice.”

McCaul has for months been asking the State Department to produce the dissent cable as part of the committee’s investigation into the Biden administration’s handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, which critics have said was marred by deaths and chaos.

Hundreds of people run alongside a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane as it moves down a runway of the international airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug.16. 2021. Verified UGC via AP

Dissent Cable

The diplomatic cable was penned by at least 23 U.S. diplomats in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, in July 2021, about a month before U.S. troops fully withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021.

According to reports from The Wall Street Journal, the classified cable warned the Biden administration was not properly prepared for President Joe Biden’s decision to unilaterally withdraw all U.S. troops from the country. It warned of Kabul’s potential collapse and said the State Department needed to take action quickly, including processing and evacuating Afghans who had assisted the United States out of the country.

Blinken has not turned over the cable to McCaul’s committee. In a hearing with the committee last week, Blinken said he opposed releasing the cable over concerns it would compromise the integrity of diplomats’ future use of the dissent channel.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) speaks at a bipartisan news conference on the ongoing Afghanistan evacuations, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Aug. 25, 2021. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

In the announcement of the subpoena, McCaul’s office said that the Republican lawmaker had tried to find a middle ground by having offered to “review the document in camera, rather than having it physically delivered to the committee.” McCaul “also offered to allow the State Department to redact the names of the signers to protect their privacy.” But the State Department still refused.

“This committee is empowered by the U.S. Constitution to conduct oversight of the State Department,” McCaul said in a statement on March 27. “We have made multiple good faith attempts to find common ground so we could see this critical piece of information.

“Unfortunately, Secretary Blinken has refused to provide the Dissent Cable and his response to the cable, forcing me to issue my first subpoena as chairman of this committee.

“The American people deserve answers as to how this tragedy unfolded, and why 13 U.S. servicemembers lost their lives. We expect the State Department to follow the law and comply with this subpoena in good faith.”

A Taliban fighter stands guard at the site of the Aug. 26 twin suicide bombs, which killed scores of people, including 13 U.S. troops, at Kabul airport in Afghanistan on Aug. 27, 2021. Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images

Afghanistan Withdrawal

The United States on Aug. 30, 2021, completed its withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, ending a nearly 20-year-long war that began in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. More than 120,000 people were evacuated from Afghanistan during the effort, including U.S. citizens, Afghan allies, and other vulnerable Afghans.

Amid the rush to evacuate them ahead of the Aug. 31 deadline, a suicide bombing took place outside of Kabul airport on Aug. 26, 2021, killing at least 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members. ISIS-K, a branch of the terrorist group ISIS, claimed responsibility for the attack.

In response to the bombing, the U.S. military launched a drone strike on Aug. 28, 2021, that it claimed had killed a member of ISIS-K. But the strike actually killed at least 10 innocent civilians, including seven children.