House Republicans are demanding information about former Special Envoy for Iran (SEI) Robert Malley and members of his negotiating team who “may have had compromising ties to the Iranian regime.”
House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer and Representative Glenn Grothman, who chairs the Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, wrote a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday, giving the State Department until October 25 to turn over information related to Malley and his team.
“The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating the Biden Administration’s efforts to conceal details about its ongoing secret nuclear negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran from Congress, ignoring statutory obligations for congressional oversight,” reads the letter obtained by National Review.
“The Administration’s lack of transparency is even more troubling in light of press reports about Iran’s direct role in this weekend’s horrific attack on Israel by Hamas and additional revelations that former Special Envoy for Iran (SEI), Robert Malley, and members of his negotiating team may have had compromising ties to the Iranian regime,” the lawmakers add.
Hamas terrorists slaughtered at least 900 Israeli civilians in a surprise attack over the weekend. Iran, the terrorist group’s primary financial backer, was heavily involved in planning and providing resources for the attack, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The attack came weeks after the Biden administration unfroze $6 billion in Iranian funds being held in Qatari banks in exchange for the release of five American prisoners from Iranian custody. Many Republicans are calling on the administration to freeze the funds or re-issue them to Israel.
White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters, “We have not yet had $1 of that six billion spent, and I will leave it at that.” Critics, meanwhile, have pointed out that the funds, which the administration claims can only be used for humanitarian purposes, nevertheless free up the regime to spend more spreading terror in the Middle East.
The letter from Comer and Grothman suggests the U.S. has made concessions to Iran that potentially violated the Iranian Nuclear Review Act, all while Malley, the Biden administration’s top negotiator with Iran, has been under investigation for alleged mishandling of classified material.
The letter cites Malley’s “history of appeasing United States’ adversaries, including meeting with the terrorist group Hamas.”
Comer and Grothman note that the investigation is “so serious that he was suspended from his position without pay” and that the investigation was initially hidden from Congress and other State Department officials.
The pair go on to cite recent media reports that suggest Ariane Tabatabai, a member of Malley’s Iran negotiating team, was in close contact with the Iranian regime for years. Tabatabai reportedly participated in the regime-backed Iran Experts Initiative. The initiative, which was created by senior Iranian Foreign Ministry officials in 2014, was created with the intent to form a network of European and U.S. researchers that could be relied upon to boost Iran’s image on global security matters. Members of the initiative worked closely with the Iranian regime, according to reports.
“Incredibly, despite her previous contact with Iranian regime officials through this unofficial regime-backed network, including consulting with them regarding her potential travel, Ms. Tabatabai is now a high-level staffer within the Department of Defense where she continues to hold a security clearance,” the lawmakers write.
The letter requests a copy of all forms and documents linked to Tabatabai’s security clearance while at the State Department and all documents and communications directed to, or coming from, Tabatabai during that time.
It also requests all documents and communications that indicate whether Malley’s “relationships with Iranian regime officials and senior members of Iran’s proxy groups were disclosed or identified as a concern for granting, renewing, and/or maintaining his security clearance or position as the Special Envoy” and all documents and communications between the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and any other government entity involved in adjudicating access to classified information mentioning or discussing Malley and his access to classified information.
Additionally, the pair requests all calendars for Malley and acting SEI Abram Paley and a “full roster of all U.S. Government employees who attended any meeting related to negotiations with the Iranian regime directly or with third parties covering the topics of American hostages held by the Iranian regime as well as any other de-escalatory measures.”