GOP may charge Blinken with contempt over Afghanistan memo.

House Republicans Threaten Contempt Charge Against Secretary of State Blinken

Secretary of State Antony Blinken may face a contempt of Congress charge from House Republicans as early as May 24. This comes after Blinken refused to turn over a key document warning U.S. officials about the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan before withdrawing in August 2021.

Republicans Demand Key Document

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) told the Daily Mail that members of Congress gave Blinken and State Department officials “ample time” to hand over the classified dissent report. The report reportedly urged allies to evacuate immediately before the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan.

Republican lawmakers said they would immediately pursue legal proceedings if Blinken missed the fourth deadline given to the official on Thursday to comply with the subpoena.

Committee Plans to Hold Blinken in Contempt

“We’ve given them ample time,” McCaul said. “Three extensions of time we tried to work this out, but unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that that’s going to work, and the next step will be to move to contempt proceedings.”

McCaul said the committee plans to meet on May 24 to hold Blinken in contempt and move the charge to the House of Representatives for a full vote. This would be the first time in U.S. history that lawmakers would take action against a sitting Secretary of State, according to the Republican.

Background on Afghanistan Withdrawal

President Joe Biden withdrew from Afghanistan on August 2021, ending two decades of U.S. military presence. The last troop plane departed after a weeks-long chaotic evacuation, which led to a terrorist attack that killed 13 U.S. service members and 170 civilians. The withdrawal also left potentially up to $24 billion worth of weapons and equipment in the hands of the Taliban.

“American people and the veterans and the Gold Star families are right to know what the thinking was in the embassy at the time to take the extraordinary measure to dissent from the policy,” McCaul said. “We also want to see Secretary Blinken’s response to the dissenting cable to see what the state of mind was a month before the debacle and the collapse of Afghanistan, which culminated in the killing of 13 service men and women.”

If lawmakers hold Blinken in contempt of Congress, Biden’s Department of Justice would have to comply with legal proceedings, but would likely forego taking action against the administration official.

• Key Takeaway: House Republicans are threatening to hold Secretary of State Blinken in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over a key document related to the Afghanistan withdrawal. The committee plans to meet on May 24 to hold Blinken in contempt and move the charge to the House of Representatives for a full vote.