McCaul demands State Dept. provide final batch of files related to Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal

U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) last week reiterated a threat to issue a subpoena compelling the U.S. State Department to produce a final batch of requested documents and information regarding the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

While the department previously turned over two other related items, it still hasn’t provided the third requested item, the Afghanistan After-Action Review (AAR) files, to the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, which is chaired by Rep. McCaul. 

“Please produce the AAR files in complete and unredacted form no later than July 14, 2023, to avoid the need for compulsory process,” wrote Rep. McCaul in a June 28 letter sent to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The AAR references a set of documents titled the “Afghanistan AAR files,” which are described as “an electronic and paper collection of all the materials the review team consulted and cited to prepare its report,” according to the congressman’s letter, which noted that to fully comply with the committee’s request, the department would have to produce not only the AAR but the accompanying AAR files.

On behalf of the committee, Rep. McCaul has been requesting the files on an almost-monthly basis since January.

“If the department does not produce the AAR files by July 14, 2023, I am prepared to proceed with a subpoena,” he wrote.