Biden Admin Refused To Cooperate With Investigators After Botched Afghanistan Withdrawal, IG Says

Inspector General John Sopko testified Wednesday that the Biden Administration refused to cooperate with investigators on U.S. aid being given to Afghanistan in the wake of the withdrawal which has since been mishandled by the Taliban.

Sopko first spoke about the “major problems with our assistance” to Afghanistan, saying he could not assure the American taxpayers that the $2 billion sent since the withdrawal has not been diverted by the Taliban. Sopko then blamed the lack of “aggressive oversight” for the problem.

“The lack of cooperation by state – and I’m not talking about the IG’s, I’m talking about the Department of State and to a lesser extent USAID is unprecedented in the nearly 12 years that I have been the SIGAR. And I must add in the two decades that I did congressional oversight, both in the Senate and the House. Due to this refusal to fully cooperate, a significant portion of SIGAR’s work, including the two reports – the five reports we did for this committee have been hindered and delayed.” (RELATED: Family Of Marine Killed During Afghanistan Withdrawal Stunned To Learn Snipers Could Have Taken Out Suicide Bomber)

“We need your help to stop this obfuscation and delay by the Department of State and to some extent, USAID. As I’m sure my fellow inspectors general would agree, we cannot abide a situation in which agencies are allowed to pick and choose what information an IG gets, or who an IG can interview or what an IG may report on. If permitted to continue, it will end SIGAR’s work in Afghanistan.”