Last year we told you about “Iranian influence agents” who had infiltrated the Biden administration and one of them, Robert Malley, had even become Biden’s special envoy for Iran. Malley had more of these ‘influence agents’ working for him on behalf of Iran.
The State Department’s Inspector General finally got wind of this an dbegan looking into the suspension of Malley’s security clearance last August. Now they’ve opened an formal investigation into all of this.
Here’s more from Semafor:
The State Department’s Inspector General has opened an internal investigation into the steps leading up to and after the suspension of the Biden administration’s special envoy to Iran, Robert Malley.
On January 23, the Inspector General’s office informed members of Congress about the probe in response to growing questions from U.S. lawmakers about Malley’s status and the reasons behind the Diplomatic Security Service’s decision to revoke his security clearance last April, according to correspondence seen by Semafor. Malley continued to perform some of the duties of the special envoy for nearly three months before the State Department officially placed him on unpaid leave in late June.
“The scope of the special review of the suspension of Robert Malley’s clearance will include the procedures the Department used in suspending the clearance as well as actions taken by the Department following the suspension,” Ryan Holden, the Inspector General’s director of congressional and public affairs, wrote in the letter. “This will include whether the Department followed proper procedures in suspending his clearance, determining what access to information he could maintain, and deciding the status of his employment.”
Holden added in his letter: “The special review will also examine which officials were involved in these decisions and how the process compares to that used for other types of employees.”
The Inspector General is interviewing State Department staff and reviewing documents and emails as part of the investigation, he said. A report will eventually be made public.
The State Department informed Malley last April 21 that it had “received information regarding you that raises serious security concerns and can be disqualifying under National Security Adjudicative Guidelines.” Semafor reported in July that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is also investigating Malley for potentially mishandling classified information.
The State Department on Saturday told Semafor that it couldn’t comment on the Inspector General’s investigation into Malley but that, in general, it “always cooperates.”
As Redsteeze pointed out on Twitter, “An Iranian espionage ring reached the office of the Secretary of State and there is basically one media outlet covering it.”
He’s right. If this were the Trump administration it would have already become a breathless scandal, especially in an election year. But just like reporters hid or ignored Biden’s faltering mind, they’ll ignore this too lest Biden lose in November.