(NewsInsights.org) – Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC), prioritized the investigation into the disastrous August 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan when he took over the committee in January 2023. He has tirelessly searched for answers about what went wrong, calling witnesses to testify in transcribed interviews before the committee. On May 21, McCaul notified former White House press secretary Jen Psaki that she would face a Congressional subpoena if she refused testimony.
McCaul issued a press release on Wednesday, May 22, detailing the letter he sent to Psaki’s attorney, Emily Loeb, requesting the former Biden administration official’s testimony about her role in the Afghanistan withdrawal. He pointed out that as White House press secretary, Psaki was responsible for informing the American public during the withdrawal. He has claimed that she instead advanced false narratives, painting a much different picture than actual events that were occurring in real time.
In his letter, McCaul pointed out that he had already requested Psaki’s cooperation in September 2023. He dismissed legal arguments from Loeb and White House counsel Richard Sauber that they believed exempted Psaki from testifying before the committee. The chair pointed out she was a former federal employee and a private citizen. He said federal law required her compliance to appear before the committee.
Moreover, McCaul highlighted the fact that Psaki and the Biden Administration publicly supported Congressional interviews of former Trump administration officials, so he expressed confusion at her refusal and the apparent double standard it set. Additionally, he conveyed his disapproval of Psaki’s choice to profit from the Afghanistan withdrawal tragedy by describing her part in her recently-released memoir, Say More: Lessons from Work, the White House, and the World.
Although the HFAC has interviewed 17 witnesses from the State and Defense Departments, McCaul stressed that the committee needed Psaki’s testimony to complete its investigation before issuing its report. He gave the former press secretary until May 28 to schedule a transcribed interview with the committee. He said his committee was “prepared to use all the tools at its disposal” to obtain her compliance.
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