The US Secretary of State will not be able to testify to lawmakers on the day he was called, his office has said
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will not appear before the House Foreign Affairs Committee to testify on the chaotic withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, his office said on Tuesday. Lawmakers subpoenaed him to do so earlier in the day.
Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) has been trying to get Blinken’s testimony on the debacle since May. The top US diplomat “must appear before the committee on September 19, 2024, or face contempt,” the committee said in a statement.
In a letter to Blinken, McCaul said that the investigation identified him as “the final decisionmaker” for his department during the evacuation of troops and civilians from Afghanistan in August 2021, and that the secretary’s testimony could benefit lawmakers as they consider “potential legislation aimed at helping prevent the catastrophic mistakes…