Top Republicans on committees overseeing US foreign policy threatened to subpoena the State Department on Tuesday after the agency failed to fork over information about suspended Iran envoy Robert Malley, according to a letter exclusively obtained by The Post.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) in the letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote that they were “deeply” troubled by more than a year of obfuscations over Malley’s departure.
“Mr. Malley’s alleged misconduct is serious, and the Department’s lack of transparency and blatant disregard for the urgency of our requests is unacceptable,” Risch and McCaul wrote.
“We have been made aware that there may be a classified response to our letter but have yet to receive it,” they added.
The GOP lawmakers asked for “fulsome answers” to their questions by Friday — or they “will be compelled to pursue compulsory processes to secure any documents, materials, and testimony” relevant to the matter, which would include issuing subpoenas.
Risch and McCaul pointed to their earlier letter on May 6, which uncovered “troubling allegations” of President Biden’s special envoy to Iran storing classified material on his personal email account and cellphone.
That material was later accessed by a “hostile cyber actor,” the lawmakers said at the time.
They also wanted to know whether Malley tried to send the classified material to anyone without a security clearance and whether Iran was responsible for the alleged hack, among several other queries related to the State Department and FBI’s ongoing investigation into the matter.
Since his security clearance was pulled in April 2023, Malley has been put on unpaid leave and has become the subject of State Department Office of Inspector General and FBI investigations.
He also landed plum teaching gigs at Princeton University and Yale University since quietly leaving the State Department.
Blinken has his own “longstanding relationship” with Malley, which should prompt more transparency about the investigations, Risch and McCaul noted.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry launched an influence campaign during the Biden administration that ensnared at least two top aides to Malley and a third who was selected due to having a role at a think tank that Malley formerly ran, Semafor previously reported.
That campaign was known as the Iran Experts Initiative.
The probe findings and reported details are reminiscent the FBI’s 2015 criminal investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for storing tens of thousands of emails on unsecured private servers.
At least 81 of the email chains discussed classified information, that investigation found, and seven referenced classified material at the Top Secret/Special Access Program level — but the bureau never recommended criminally charging Clinton.
Malley had previously served as a top negotiator of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the Iran nuclear deal, during the Obama administration.
In that role, he advocated for sanctions relief on Tehran in exchange for temporary restrictions to its nuclear program — policy changes that were reversed by the Trump administration.
Though it has tried, the Biden administration has thus far failed resurrect the Iran nuclear deal, which former President Donald Trump’s State Department withdrew from in 2018.
“Rob Malley remains on leave,” a State Department spokesperson told The Post. “Nevertheless, the Department has provided Congress with relevant information on personnel inquiries relating to Iran policy.”
“We have been and will continue to be in frequent contact with Congress on issues pertaining to Iran,” the spokesperson added.