U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken may be prosecuted for contempt of Congress in connection with the investigation into the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. This was reported by CNN.
The initiator is the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives Michael McCaul.
“House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul is threatening to hold Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in contempt of Congress over the investigation into the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan,” the report said.
McCaul sent the letter to Blinken after he testified before Congress in March on the hasty withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in 2021. The document said the State Department had provided incomplete information, thereby violating “its statutory duty,” and should immediately provide the full data.
The committee head gave Blinken a third deadline, until May 11, to do so voluntarily or else he would have to go to court.
“McCaul moved the deadline for subpoenas several times — from April 4 to April 21 and then to May 1 — after a series of correspondence with the State Department,” CNN notes.
The State Department called the threat to go to court an “unproductive action,” expressing regret.