House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul believes the Biden administration’s suspended special envoy to Iran, Rob Malley, “compromised classified information” related to the US adversary.
Malley was placed on unpaid leave by the State Department in June and had his security clearance suspended amid an investigation into the possibility that he mishandled classified material. The FBI is also conducting an “ongoing” investigation into the matter, according to the State Department.
“It’s very concerning,” McCaul (R-Texas) said of the allegations against Malley during an interview with Fox News host Martha MacCallum on Thursday. “He is a special envoy for Iran. “He is the chief architect, the negotiator of the Iran deal, to resurrect the Iran deal.”
McCaul explained that congressional lawmakers only learned of Malley’s suspension after he went “basically AWOL” when asked to brief Congress on Iran.
McCaul called the allegations against Malley “very troubling.” REUTERS The FBI is conducting an “ongoing” investigation into a Biden administration official, according to the State Department. AFP via Getty Images
“We found out that he was suspended without pay because he had issues with his security clearance. He compromised classified information, we believe with Iran, and now there is a broader investigation into this,” McCaul said.
“You can’t make this stuff up,” the Texas Republican added.
McCaul’s concerns have been shared by other lawmakers, including Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who told The Post on Wednesday that Malley “deserves extensive scrutiny” in light of a Wall Street Journal report that Officers from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps planned and approved this weekend’s Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, which killed more than 1,000 people in the Jewish state.
“These reports could not be more troubling and hint at what could be the worst State Department scandal since Alger Hiss,” Issa said.
Malley was suspended by the State Department in June.AP
Malley, a controversial figure in the Biden administration for his willingness to interact with repugnant Middle East figures, including members of Hamas, was appointed by President Biden to the position of special envoy for Iran on January 28, 2021.
He was previously president and CEO of the International Crisis Group and served in various capacities in the White House during former President Barack Obama’s administration, where he was deeply involved in the Obama administration’s construction of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Omri Ceren, national security adviser to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), scored on sunday that “Malley was so entangled with Hamas that Obama had to leave him as an advisor [sic] during the 2008 campaign, before bringing him back to deal with Middle East policy.”
Malley also served on the National Security Council and was a special assistant to former President Bill Clinton.
Last month, a trove of leaked files revealed that three top Malley aides were linked to a secret influence operation by Tehran’s Foreign Ministry, according to internal Iranian government correspondence and emails reviewed by Semafor.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn