The U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee has on Tuesday, 3rd of September, 2024 subpoenaed Secretary of State Antony Blinken for refusing to appear before the panel to testify on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.

In a letter about the subpoena, Chairman Michael McCaul said Blinken must appear before the committee on Sept. 19 or face contempt charges.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Blinken was not currently available to testify on the dates proposed by the committee, but has proposed “reasonable alternatives” to comply with McCaul’s request for a public hearing.

“It is disappointing that instead of continuing to engage with the Department in good faith, the Committee instead has issued yet another unnecessary subpoena,” Miller said in a statement.

He said Blinken had testified before Congress on Afghanistan more than 14 times, including four times before McCaul’s committee. He also said State has provided the committee with nearly 20,000 pages of department records, multiple high-level briefings and transcribed interviews.