House Rules Committee may take up Blinken contempt resolution on Monday

WASHINGTON — The House Rules Committee may mark up a resolution on Monday that would set terms for a House vote on holding Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken in contempt for his failure to testify at a special hearing on the Biden administration’s handling of the 2021 military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The committee listed the resolution as part of the agenda on its website. But the Republican majority’s email to reporters didn’t include it. The committee is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. Eastern time.

U.S. statute makes it a misdemeanor criminal offense to fail to comply with a congressional subpoena seeking testimony or documents as part of an official congressional inquiry.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee in September voted 26-25 along party lines to recommend holding Blinken in contempt. The panel said his participation was vital to its investigation into the Afghanistan withdrawal and the push for accountability for the U.S. troops killed in a terrorist bombing at the Kabul airport during the chaotic final days of the withdrawal.

The contempt report accompanying the vote accused Blinken of a “pattern of obstruction” during the panel’s investigation of the withdrawal.

Democrats say Republicans are abusing the subpoena power for political theater and acting in bad faith by ignoring the many times since August 2021 when Blinken has testified before Congress about the withdrawal as well as the many documents and transcribed interviews the State Department provided at the committee’s request.

The House this year also narrowly voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for not releasing audio of President Joe Biden discussing his handling of classified documents.

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