Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) slammed the Biden administration for its handling of an investigation into one of the United States’s top Iran envoys.
Rob Malley, a top U.S. diplomat who helped create the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, was put on unpaid leave last month. A source familiar with the matter told Politico that diplomatic security officials are contemplating whether to let him handle classified material and in the meantime have revoked his security clearance. Republicans have pressed the Biden administration for answers regarding the investigation, but they claim the administration has not been forthcoming. Adding to the suspicion is news that the FBI has launched its own investigation.
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Rubio, the ranking member on the Senate Intelligence Committee, has led Republican frustrations.
“You would think the administration would proactively inform Congress that the person in charge of this doesn’t have the clearances to do their job, and that never happened,” he said. “It’s not good.”
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Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, echoed Rubio’s frustrations. After demanding a response, the State Department declined to give much information and cited privacy rules. McCaul called the response “absolutely unacceptable.”
“Congress deserves to know exactly why the U.S. special envoy to Iran had his security clearance suspended, was then suspended from his position, and now, according to news reports, is being investigated by the FBI,” McCaul said. “This is a person whose mission is to negotiate with the Islamic Republic of Iran — nothing could be more serious than this.”
