{"id":1970894,"date":"2023-07-12T14:48:01","date_gmt":"2023-07-12T18:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-state-department-blocks-congressional-investigation-into-scandal-plagued-iran-envoy\/"},"modified":"2023-07-12T14:48:42","modified_gmt":"2023-07-12T18:48:42","slug":"biden-state-department-blocks-congressional-investigation-into-scandal-plagued-iran-envoy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-state-department-blocks-congressional-investigation-into-scandal-plagued-iran-envoy\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden&#8217;s State Department thwarts Iran envoy scandal probe."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-state-department-blocks-congressional-investigation-into-scandal-plagued-iran-envoy%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1970894&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div>\n<blockquote>\n<h2>Rob Malley reportedly had security clearance revoked for mishandling classified information<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure><figcaption>Biden administration Iran envoy Robert Malley \/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The Biden administration is stonewalling a congressional probe into Iran envoy Rob Malley following reports the senior diplomat had his security clearance revoked for mishandling classified information.<\/p>\n<p>The State Department on Tuesday informed House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul (R., Texas) that it won&#8217;t answer any questions about the matter or provide the committee with details about the allegations against Malley, who was placed on unpaid leave late last month while the FBI and other security agencies investigate his actions.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Department is not in a position to provide further documents or information related to this personnel-security clearance matter,&#8221; the State Department informed McCaul, according to a copy of the correspondence obtained by the <em>Washington Free Beacon.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The exact charges against Malley remain unclear, but the decision to revoke his security clearance has led lawmakers to suspect the top diplomat may have mishandled classified information during diplomatic talks with Iran. Malley has been working to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, which would remove sanctions on Tehran and provide the hardline regime with billions in cash windfalls.<\/p>\n<p>Malley has a history of going off the rails in his diplomatic efforts. In 2008, he was <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/national-security\/a-bad-bad-choice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">fired<\/a> from the Obama campaign for conducting unauthorized talks with the Iranian-backed terror group Hamas.<\/p>\n<p>McCaul and other lawmakers suspect the Biden administration tried to conceal Malley\u2019s alleged mishandling of classified information. He has been on an extended leave of absence from the State Department for some time, but was formally placed on unpaid leave after news of the investigation into his behavior leaked to the press last month.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of answering McCaul\u2019s questions, the State Department referred him to the Foreign Affairs Manual, an internal employee handbook that summarizes how classified information should be treated.<\/p>\n<p>The State Department\u2019s refusal to answer basic questions and turn over information to Congress is <strong>&#8220;absolutely unacceptable,&#8221;<\/strong> according to McCaul, who said that <strong>&#8220;nothing could be more serious&#8221;<\/strong> than the charges outlined against Malley.<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Congress deserves to know exactly why the U.S. Special Envoy to Iran had his security clearance suspended, was then suspended from his position, and now, according to news reports, is being investigated by the FBI,&#8221;<\/strong> McCaul told the <em>Free Beacon<\/em> in a statement. <strong>&#8220;This is a person whose mission is to negotiate with the Islamic Republic of Iran\u2014nothing could be more serious than this.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-waives-sanctions-on-iran-as-nuclear-talks-restart\/\" title=\"Biden Admin Waives Sanctions on Iran as Nuclear Talks Restart\">senior congressional source familiar<\/a> with the matter said the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/congressional-republicans-call-on-biden-administration-to-act-swiftly-on-ethiopia-crisis\/\" title=\"Congressional Republicans Call on Biden Administration to Act Swiftly on Ethiopia Crisis\">foreign affairs committee<\/a> will send another letter to the State Department this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-state-department-blocks-congressional-investigation-into-scandal-plagued-iran-envoy\/\" title=\"Biden's State Department thwarts Iran envoy scandal probe.\">week outlining specific questions<\/a> that must be answered immediately.<\/p>\n<p>The charges against Malley come at a sensitive time for the Biden administration, as it conducts secret diplomacy with Iran aimed at securing a new nuclear deal. The United States is reportedly prepared to give the cash-strapped Iranian regime access to billions of dollars in exchange for minimal restrictions on its nuclear program, which is <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/national-security\/foreign-intel-agencies-say-iran-on-cusp-of-testing-first-nuke\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">closer than ever<\/a> to developing an atomic weapon.<\/p>\n<p>McCaul first pressed the State Department for answers in late June, after Malley publicly confirmed that his security clearance was revoked. The State Department has repeatedly declined to comment on the matter, saying only that Malley is on extended leave.<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;The Department\u2019s failure to inform Congress of this matter demonstrates at best a lack of candor, and at worst represents deliberate and potentially unlawful misinformation,&#8221;<\/strong> McCaul wrote in his initial letter.<\/p>\n<p>The committee chairman had instructed the State Department to turn over <strong>&#8220;any and all allegations, investigations, and\/or findings of misconduct, including security violations, against Special Envoy Malley.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Biden administration is obstructing a congressional investigation into Rob Malley, the Iran envoy, after reports emerged that he had his security clearance revoked due to mishandling classified information. The State Department notified the House Foreign Committee about this matter on Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":1970895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1970894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1970894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1970894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1970894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1970895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1970894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1970894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1970894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}