Chairman Michael McCaul stated in a letter regarding the subpoena that Blinken needs to come before the committee on September 19 or else he will be charged with contempt.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken was subpoenaed by the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday because, according to the committee, he had declined to testify before it on the US exit from Afghanistan in August 2021. Chairman Michael McCaul stated in a letter regarding the subpoena that Blinken needs to come before the committee on September 19 or else he will be charged with contempt.

The US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee subpoenaed Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday after he refused to come before it over the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. Regarding the subpoena, Chairman Michael McCaul wrote to Blinken stating that he must appear before the committee on September 19 or face contempt charges.

disappointing that instead of continuing to engage with the Department in good faith, the Committee instead has issued yet another unnecessary subpoena,” Miller said in a statement.

He said Blinken had testified before Congress on Afghanistan more than 14 times, including four times before McCaul’s committee. He also said State has provided the committee with nearly 20,000 pages of department records, multiple high-level briefings and transcribed interviews.

McCaul asked Blinken in May to appear at a hearing in September on the committee’s report on its investigation of the withdrawal from Afghanistan

It is disheartening that the Committee has issued yet another needless subpoena rather than interacting with the Department in good faith, Miller stated in a statement. He noted that Blinken had provided testimony on Afghanistan before Congress on over 14 occasions, including four occasions in front of McCaul’s committee. Additionally, he claimed that State has given the committee access to around 20,000 pages of departmental documents, many high-level briefings, and transcripts of interviews. In May, McCaul invited Blinken to testify at a September hearing regarding the committee’s findings regarding its examination of the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Late this month, the Republican front-runner for president attended a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in commemoration of the 13 service personnel who died during the US withdrawal. He also went to the military cemetery’s Section 60, which is revered by the military and contains the graves of its soldiers. Although footage recorded by Trump’s campaign and used in advertising, political activities are prohibited in that portion of the cemetery under federal law and Pentagon standards. Trump said that the families of service personnel who lost their lives in Afghanistan had asked him to visit the cemetery on Friday at an address in Pennsylvania.