The House Foreign Affairs Committee will formally initiate contempt-of-Congress proceedings against Secretary of State Antony Blinken for failing to comply with its subpoena to appear for a Sept. 24 oversight hearing on the calamitous August 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal.
Committee Chair Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) opened the hearing, titled “An Assessment of the State Department’s Withdrawal from Afghanistan by America’s Top Diplomat,” by reading the full hearing notice and paused to silently emphasize that the witness table was empty.
“Unfortunately, the witness has chosen not to appear and to willfully defy the subpoena,” he said.
He adjourned the hearing to begin formal contempt proceedings against the secretary by presenting the House with a resolution calling for Blinken to be held in contempt of Congress….