House Committee Chairman Blasts State Dept On US Envoy For Iran
A senior Republican lawmaker slammed as "absolutely unacceptable" a State Department response about why the US Iran envoy’s security clearance was under review.
A senior Republican lawmaker slammed as "absolutely unacceptable" a State Department response about why the US Iran envoy’s security clearance was under review.
Michael McCaul (R-TX), chairman of the House of Representatives committee on foreign affairs, wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on June 30 seeking "a full and transparent accounting" about why Malley was suspended and was under investigation.
Malley’s suspension was first reported by Iran International June 29, and formally announced the following day by Matthew Miller, the spokesperson for the US State Department, calling it "a leave of absence”, adding that his duties would be temporarily assumed by his deputy, Abram Paley. However, it is believed he had been suspended as early as April.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a US official said Malley was put on unpaid leave on June 29 after news broke that his security clearance was under review.
In a response made public by McCaul's office, Naz Durakoglu the assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs, said the agency had a "thorough and comprehensive process" to assess an individual's eligibility to access classified information.
"Consistent with longstanding Executive Branch and Department of State policies and practices, the Department is not in a position to provide further documents or information related to this personnel-security clearance matter," she said.
McCaul, in a brief statement, said: "This is an absolutely unacceptable response."
"Congress deserves to know exactly why the US Special Envoy (for) Iran had his security clearance suspended, was then suspended from his position, and now, according to news reports, is being investigated by the FBI," McCaul added, saying he would ask the agency for a classified briefing next week.
Former State Department Advisor on Iran Gabriel Noronha tweeted that the administration failed to clarify the nature of Malley’s security infractions and “they contemptuously refer Congress to the Foreign Affairs Manual.”
When news that his security clearance was under review broke on June 29, Malley said: "I have been informed that my security clearance is under review. I have not been provided any further information, but I expect the investigation to be resolved favorably and soon. In the meantime, I am on leave."
In a regular briefing on Tuesday, State Department spokesman Matt Miller said Malley "stopped performing the duties" of special envoy for Iran on June 29 and "went on leave "several weeks before that," but he declined to provide further details.
In fact, Malley was absent from a Congressional briefing in May, when the State Department said he could not attend because of a family health emergency.
Three other Republican senators spoke with Iran International on Tuesday, criticizing the Biden administration for its Iran policy and Malley’s security investigation.
Appointed soon after Democratic President Joe Biden took office in 2021, Malley had the task of trying to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Then-President Donald Trump, a Republican, had abandoned the pact in 2018 and reimposed U.S. sanctions on Iran.
But Iranians opposed to the Islamic Republic never trusted Malley, who they believed was inclined not to be tough with the regime and played down popular sentiments to replace the clerical regime with a secular and democratic government. Some US lawmakers have also hinted that they share the distrust.
Having failed to revive the deal, the United States has held talks with Iran to try to ease tensions by sketching out steps that could limit the Iranian nuclear program, release some detained U.S. citizens and unfreeze some Iranian assets abroad, Iranian and Western officials said in June.
With reporting by Reuters
