Capitol Hill Republicans are growing increasingly frustrated with the Biden administration’s unwillingness to share information about what led to a leave of absence and an FBI investigation of America’s top Iran envoy.
Rob Malley, who helped craft the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, was put on unpaid leave last month pending a review of his security clearance. Beyond that, details get murky.Diplomatic Security officials have been investigating whether Malley should be allowed to handle classified information, according to a person with knowledge of the probe who wasn’t authorized to discuss it. The FBI also is scrutinizing the matter, according to another person familiar with the issue, a development first reported by Semafor.
Now the conflict is straining the administration’s relationships with Hill Republicans, just as Biden’s team seeks a new way to impose restraints on Iran’s nuclear program.
The clearance suspension and FBI scrutiny signal that whatever happened — or is suspected to have happened — wasn’t minor.
It’s rare for someone to have their security clearance suspended over a single mistake relating to classified material, according to former U.S. officials familiar with diplomatic security. People usually get a warning the first time, sometimes multiple times, if the offense is deemed minor.
And the Biden administration’s attempt to obscure the situation —by first neglecting to tell lawmakers and then calling it a personal leave — has some accusing the State Department of deception.
“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,” said Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee. “It’s not good.”
