Biden Admin Tight-lipped on Malley’s Leave, Congress Demands Answers
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Sulaiman
- . August 3, 2023
- . Update: August 3, 2023 8:42 pm
The US special envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, was reportedly placed on leave, but the administration of President Joe Biden reportedly declined to elaborate during a briefing behind closed doors, according to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
According to a committee representative who spoke to Media, “They refused to give us any significant new information, including the explanation for why his security clearance was revoked.”
We intend to follow up once more as soon as we have accurate information.
That would be the Republican-controlled committee’s third attempt to question the administration about its decision to put Mr. Malley on leave pending a review of his security clearance.
After the State Department turned down an earlier request for information about the development, committee chairman Michael McCaul made the request for the briefing behind closed doors.
Nothing could be more serious than this, according to Mr. McCaul, since this person has been assigned the task of negotiating with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The committee representative attested to the Friday closed-door meeting’s existence.
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According to the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Washington announced Mr. Malley’s suspension in June, shortly after US representatives visited Oman to hold unofficial talks with Tehran.
The State Department stated that it is unable to provide any additional documents or information regarding this personnel-security clearance matter in a written response to Mr. McCaul’s initial inquiry.
The letter, which was signed by Assistant Secretary Naz Durakoglu for the Bureau of Legislative Affairs, continued, Because that kind of information is sensitive, we are working to find relevant information or records that can be given to the committee in a good way.
According to the House committee’s representative, When questioned about Mr. Malley’s leave, the Biden administration remained silent, citing the Privacy Act.
According to the Department of Justice, the Privacy Act forbids the disclosure of a record about a person from a system of records without the person’s express written consent; however, there are some exceptions, including disclosure to Congress.
Regarding how the meeting was described by the foreign affairs committee, the State Department declined to comment. Rob Malley is still on vacation. Due to privacy concerns, we are unable to share anything else at this time, a department representative told news sources.
