House Foreign Affairs Committee will question the State Department regarding the suspension of Iran envoy this week, according to a report.
State Department Officials to Meet with House Foreign Affairs Committee
Officials in the State Department are expected to meet with the House Foreign Affairs Committee this week to address concerns regarding the suspension of President Joe Biden’s Iran envoy, Rob Malley.
The exact date of the closed-door meeting has not been set, but it is a result of an agreement between the State Department and the Foreign Affairs committee. The State Department has not provided any comments on the reason for Malley’s suspension last month, but multiple reports suggest that there may have been mishandling of classified documents.
Concerns Raised by Rep. Michael McCaul
“I don’t know what the problem is with his background checks and his security clearances, only what’s been reported that classified documents have been mishandled,” said Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) during an interview with Washington Post Live earlier this month.
McCaul further emphasized the seriousness of the situation, stating, “Now, that could be something very small in nature, or it could be something very, very serious. And if I carry it to the most serious extreme, if he has leaked very sensitive or classified information to our foreign adversaries like Iran or Russia, that’s a very serious act that would fall under treason.”
As the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, McCaul expressed his lack of knowledge regarding the specifics of the investigation and suspension. However, he stressed the importance of ensuring that no serious crimes were committed due to the high level of trust placed in Malley.
“We need to know what is going on. We need to be briefed in the Congress,” McCaul asserted. “This is the very same man who negotiated the Iran deal. This is a man that the nation has put their biggest confidence in, with some of the biggest secrets related to Iran’s nuclear weapons program, and if there’s anything that has compromised that, Congress needs to know.”
Malley’s Background and Suspension
Rob Malley has served in the State Department under several Democratic administrations and was appointed as the Iran envoy in 2021. He was initially placed on partial leave in the spring, but in June, it was escalated to full-time and unpaid leave. The investigation into Malley’s security clearance involves the FBI and Diplomatic Security, as reported by Fox News.
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