Jen Psaki Gets Major Legal Warning: ‘Testify Or Face Subpoena’
Former Biden White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is facing a stern warning from a top Republican lawmaker: testify before my committee voluntarily, or be served with a subpoena.
Either way, the former top spokeswoman for President Joe Biden appears in a bind over a request by Republican Texas Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) to explain her involvement in discussions leading up to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. The hasty exit drew international condemnation as heartbreaking images of civilians hugging the wheels of departing aircraft flooded phone screens around the world.
The Daily Caller obtained a letter from the congressman referencing Psaki’s new book, which contains excerpts about her time at President Biden’s side during the episode. The MSNBC host has already been forced to retract portions of the memoir which falsely claimed that the president did not look down at his watch during a ceremony when bodies of fallen soldiers from the Afghanistan war were being unloaded from a military aircraft.
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Jen Psaki facing subpoena for dodging Congress after ‘LYING’ in book about Biden’s disastrous Afghanistan response and ‘profiting off tragedy’Republican Michael McCaul is demanding Biden’s former press secretary sit for questioning following her ‘deliberate… pic.twitter.com/HpFApCweS5
— SANTINO (@MichaelSCollura) May 22, 2024
“Your client Jen Psaki has failed to adequately respond to my letter dated May 21, 2024, requesting that she appear before the Committee for a transcribed interview relating to my investigation into the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. As you know, I requested a response from Ms. Psaki by May 28, 2024, which has now passed. Your client’s disregard for my request is an affront to this Committee and the U.S. House of Representatives,” McCaul wrote in the letter.
“I have reviewed the email that was addressed to my staff on May 28, 2024. I am troubled by your and Ms. Psaki’s stated ‘deference’ to outdated ‘concerns’ from the White House Counsel’s Office. Further, Ms. Psaki is a private citizen, who has published her insight into the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan for public consumption and personal profit. Ms. Psaki’s duty to appear before Congress is manifest, and her former employer’s desire to avoid congressional oversight is not relevant,” McCaul continued.
At issue is the death of 13 American soldiers stationed in Afghanistan. A suicide bombing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport’s Abbey Gate came when the facility was being flooded by civilians attempting to board the few remaining U.S. aircrafts leaving the country, killing roughly another 200 in the attack. Rep. McCaul has given Psaki until June 12th at 5 p.m. to respond to his request.
A post-incident analysis by the Pentagon concluded the bombing was not preventable despite, as the Caller notes, firsthand testimony alleging otherwise. President Biden has stood by the withdrawal, touting his ability to officially bring the 21-year war to an end, though not without continued debate over whether the deadly exit should count as a mission accomplished.
