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Washington, D.C. – Last Tuesday, the State Department indicated it would cease almost all cooperation with the congressionally mandated Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), a move which SIGAR described as “illegal obstruction.” When asked about this unprecedented break with official norms, State Department spokesman Ned Price pointed to a report published by SIGAR last month about the calamitous withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying the report “does not reflect the consensus view of the State Department or of the U.S. Government” and “that SIGAR did not request input from the State Department…in the process of drafting this report.” (emphasis added). However, SIGAR is an independent watchdog that is not required to draft reports that reflect “the consensus view of the State Department.” In fact, its job is to investigate and report the facts free from undue influence. Second, SIGAR did ask for input from the State Department, contrary to what Ned Price claimed, and has documented correspondence to prove they did. In response to these blatant lies from Price, House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican Michael McCaul has released the following statement.

“For the State Department to refuse to cooperate with a congressionally mandated watchdog simply because it won’t repeat the false Biden administration talking points on Afghanistan is wrong, and it’s in direct violation of President Biden’s promise that ‘watchdogs have been welcomed back’ in his administration. To then have the State Department spokesperson lie to members of the media in an effort to silence the watchdog is unacceptable and a clear abuse of power. We now know that more than 800 American citizens were abandoned in Afghanistan, and that more than 200 are still trapped there. The American people want answers and the State Department press corps deserves honesty – not more lies meant to cover up the Biden administration’s failures.”

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