House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) walked back his threat to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt for withholding a “dissent cable” from diplomats who warned of the risks of the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
McCaul, 61, told Blinken in a Thursday letter he would “pause” efforts to enforce a committee subpoena after the State Department agreed to let the Republican chairman and Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (D-NY) see the cable “in camera” with the names of the officials who authored the messages redacted.
“I am available to view the documents as soon as possible,” wrote McCaul.
“Additionally, as Chairman of the Committee, I am leading these oversight efforts, but not to the exclusion of other Members of the Committee who are undoubtedly entitled to review the contents of the dissent cable and response.”
“As such, I must insist on the Department allowing other Members to review the dissent cable and response.”
Last week, the Foreign Affairs chairman threatened to hold Blinken in contempt for refusing to comply with the March subpoena requesting the cable — nearly making the secretary of state the first top US diplomat to face congressional disapproval.
McCaul on Tuesday said he would formally introduce the contempt charge on May 24, teeing up a likely party-line House vote in early June.
But department spokesperson Vedant Patel confirmed Wednesday that McCaul and Meeks would be given access to the document.
The cable contains the signatures of 23 State Department officials and was sent on or about July 13, 2021 — weeks before the Biden administration removed US forces and the Taliban took over Kabul.
Asked about the months-long delay in providing the committee with the document, Patel said that the dissent channel cable is “something that is really integral and sacred” to the work of the department.
The State Department had previously sent a summary of the four-page cable to the Foreign Affairs Committee earlier this month, which McCaul said had not satisfied the subpoena request.
Blinken had already blown past three other deadlines McCaul set in the preceding months.
The withdrawal led to the deaths of 13 US service members and hundreds of Afghans in an ISIS suicide bombing at Kabul’s international airport.
Hundreds of US citizens and more than 60,000 interpreters were left behind after the pullout ended Aug. 30, 2021.
The Biden White House has faulted the Trump administration for striking a deal with the Taliban that ultimately laid the groundwork for the withdrawal.