Congress Demands White House Turn Over Afghan Docs As Impeachment Heats Up

In a move that could lay the groundwork for hearing to impeach President Joe Biden, six congressional leaders are ordering the Biden administration to turn over documents and communications relating to Biden’s botched 2021 withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.

The purpose of the probe is to determine how and why the withdrawal of forces led to chaos and the deaths of U.S. servicemembers.  However, Biden’s handling of the operation is a proposed article of impeachment and any findings could be explosive in upcoming impeachment hearings.

House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and five subcommittee chairs sent written demands to senior leadership at the White House, U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), U.S. Department of State (State), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, requesting all documents, communications, and information related to the Biden Administration’s disastrous military and diplomatic withdrawal from Afghanistan. 

Letters were sent to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, White House National Security Affairs Director Jake Sullivan, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and USAID Administrator Samantha Power.

“Since August 2021, Oversight Committee Republicans have sought information into the Afghanistan catastrophe. Meanwhile, the Biden Administration continues to obstruct congressional oversight as well as the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR),” Committee Republicans note in a statement.

“The Biden Administration was tragically unprepared for the Afghanistan withdrawal and their decisions in the region directly resulted in a national security and humanitarian catastrophe,” they add.  “U.S. servicemen and women lost their lives, Americans were abandoned, taxpayer dollars are unaccounted for, the Taliban gained access to military equipment, progress for Afghan women was derailed, and the entire area is now under hostile Taliban control.”

The American people deserve answers and the Biden Administration’s ongoing obstruction of this investigation is unacceptable,” writes Comer. “With the power of the gavel, Oversight Republicans are determined to provide answers, transparency, and accountability. 

“Every relevant department and agency should be prepared to cooperate and provide all requested information. The American people expect nothing less,” Comer adds.

“Chairman Comer and Oversight Committee Republicans have aggressively pursued information from the Biden Administration, seeking answers on the botched Afghanistan withdrawal over ten times,” the Committee further noted in its statement, adding, “The Biden Administration has failed to produce any requested information. Despite requesting hearings in August 2021, September 2021, and January 2022, Committee Democrats never held a public hearing on the Afghanistan withdrawal. The Biden Administration continues to avoid transparency, and therefore, accountability for its deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan.”

The Republican lawmakers today sent the following letters calling for documents, communications, and information related to the botched Afghanistan withdrawal, evacuation, and vetting and screening of Afghans relocating to the U.S.

In addition to Comer, the letters were signed by National Security, the Border and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Chairman Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.), Government Operations and the Federal Workforce Subcommittee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas), Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation Subcommittee Chairwoman Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Subcommittee Chairman Pat Fallon (R-Texas), and Health Care and Financial Services Subcommittee Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.)

Michael Bingham