By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee recommended on Tuesday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken be held in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena seeking information about the chaotic 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The panel voted 26-25 in favor of a committee report recommending that the full House find Blinken in contempt for refusing to comply with its subpoena after he did not appear at a hearing on Tuesday morning on the withdrawal.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the vote.
Blinken, who is in New York this week for the U.N. General Assembly, said in a letter to the committee’s chairman, Republican Representative Michael McCaul, on Sunday that he had tried to reach an accommodation with the committee on when he would be available to testify and offered alternative witnesses.
The U.S. contempt of Congress statute outlines a process for the House or Senate to refer a non-compliant witness for criminal prosecution. Ultimately, the U.S. Justice Department decides whether to bring criminal charges.
It was not immediately clear when the full House would vote on the committee’s recommendation.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Mark Porter and Chizu Nomiyama)
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