Rep. McCaul Delays Blinken Contempt Markup Following Negotiations

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul announced on Thursday that he has decided to postpone the markup for a resolution to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt. This decision came after a conversation between the two, during which Blinken agreed to produce documents regarding the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. 

“I had a good conversation with the secretary last night, and he agreed to produce the documents,” McCaul, R-Texas, told The Hill. “In the spirit of good faith negotiations, I’ve postponed the markup, with the understanding that these documents will be produced.”

The committee and State Department have been in a standoff for over a year over the documents, with McCaul demanding them repeatedly as part of House Republicans’ investigation into what he has called a “chaotic” withdrawal.

This postponement is the latest development in the battle between the Foreign Affairs Committee and the State Department over documents related to the deadly pullout from Afghanistan in August 2021. 

Last week, McCaul sent a letter to Blinken threatening him with contempt of Congress if the notes from the State Department’s After-Action Review (AAR) concerning Afghanistan were not handed over. The resolution markup had initially been scheduled for Thursday morning. 

McCaul said the AAR has revealed “significant failures” in the State Department’s response to the withdrawal, and the documents being sought will provide crucial information for his committee’s probe. 

McCaul also stated that if the situation changes and the documents are not produced, he will have to revisit all available options to ensure their production.

The Foreign Affairs Committee issued its initial subpoena for the documents in July and by August, the State Department had only provided a “meager 73 pages of significantly duplicative materials” by the deadline.

Nearly a year ago, McCaul issued a separate subpoena seeking a sensitive diplomatic cable on the withdrawal. The State Department missed that deadline but later agreed to allow the committee to see the cable after McCaul threatened to hold Blinken in contempt.