Republicans will take legal action against a Secretary of State for first time ... trends now
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul is preparing his committee to move forward with a contempt of Congress charge against Secretary of State Antony Blinken as soon as May 24 after the State Department is expected to blow past a deadline to hand over a key document related to the August 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal.
The committee is specifically seeking a classified dissenting cable that U.S. State Department employees sent prior to the Taliban's takeover on July 13, 2021. The cable warned about a 'deteriorating' security situation' and urged the immediate evacuation of allies, a warning that the Biden administration did not heed, say Republicans.
Blinken is expected to miss the deadline of 6 p.m. ET Thursday May 11 to hand over the document or legal proceedings would be immediately started against him.
McCaul told DailyMail.com Thursday that the proceedings could begin as soon as May 24.
'We've given them ample time. 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.
'We plan to have a meeting of my committee on May 24, to hold the Secretary in contempt, and move that to the floor for a full vote by the House of Representatives.'
The chairman also called it 'interesting' that it would be the 'first time in history the Secretary of State has ever been held in contempt by Congress.'
A spokesperson for the State Department did not respond to DailyMail.com's request on whether they will provide the requested cable to the committee by the deadline.
In August 2021, 13 U.S. service members and 170 others were killed near the Hamid Karzai International Airport after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive. Additionally, thousands of U.S. citizens and allies of the United States who were unable to quickly evacuate were left stranded in the country after the Taliban quickly took over the capital of Kabul.
The committee led by McCaul is investigating the Biden administration's role in the deadly withdrawal, which he has previously called a 'stunning failure' of leadership.
Secretary of State Blinken must comply with a subpoena by May 11
McCaul writes in the letter that the information turned over to the committee from the State Department has been 'insufficient.
'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 told DailyMail.com.
He added that he does not 'particularly relish' moving forward with legal proceedings, but it's not a
