Blinken may be held in contempt after House GOP advances measure
Secretary of State Antony Blinken could be held in contempt of Congress after a key House committee advanced the penal measure on Tuesday.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced a contempt resolution against the top Biden administration Cabinet secretary, setting it up for a House-wide vote after Congress returns from a six-week recess. A secretary of state has never in history been held in contempt.
"We have a duty of oversight, and no one’s above the law," McCaul told Fox News Digital Tuesday morning.
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Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Fox News Digital, "I’m sure we will," when asked if there would be a House-wide vote on holding Blinken in contempt when Congress returns in November.
If the House votes to hold Blinken in contempt, he would be automatically referred to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for criminal charges.
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The House GOP majority has already held another Biden official in contempt – Attorney General Merrick Garland. The DOJ declined to prosecute, however.
House Republicans also voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, though it was quickly dismissed by the Senate.
McCaul has accused Blinken of stonewalling his committee’s probe into President Biden’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.
Blinken was absent from the hearing portion due to a full schedule at the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week, however.
In a letter sent to McCaul over the weekend, Blinken urged McCaul to withdraw his subpoena and efforts to hold him in contempt, saying he was "disappointed" with the Texas Republican.
"As I have made clear, I am willing