WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and U.S. Representative Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the State Department’s ongoing lack of transparency and refusal to cooperate with the committees regarding the suspension of Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley's security clearance.
"The Department’s failure to cooperate with our repeated inquiries dating back to June 2023 into the suspension of Mr. Robert Malley’s security clearance is deeply troubling," the members wrote. "Mr. Malley’s alleged misconduct is serious, and the Department’s lack of transparency and blatant disregard for the urgency of our requests is unacceptable."
Full text of the letter can be found here and below:
Dear Secretary Blinken,
The Department’s failure to cooperate with our repeated inquiries dating back to June 2023 into the suspension of Mr. Robert Malley’s security clearance is deeply troubling. Mr. Malley’s alleged misconduct is serious, and the Department’s lack of transparency and blatant disregard for the urgency of our requests is unacceptable.
On May 6, 2024, we sent you a letter requesting immediate answers to several questions regarding Mr. Malley’s security clearance. Since then, we have gotten more information from the press than we have from you or your representatives. We have been made aware that there may be a classified response to our letter but have yet to receive it. This vague assurance, however, failed to include any information on when we could expect your reply or whether it would address all of our questions. We also note your lack of response to Questions for the Record from Ranking Member Risch about how you would handle your own involvement in the Malley case, given your longstanding personal relationship with Mr. Malley.
As such, please provide fulsome answers to our questions, with classified attachments as necessary, by no later than close of business on August 2, 2024. Should the Department miss this deadline, we will be compelled to pursue compulsory processes to secure any documents, materials, and testimony relevant to our investigations from key members of your team.
Sincerely,
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