Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki agreed to sit in front of House Republicans for a transcribed interview on President Joe Biden’s administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to a Monday press release.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul confirmed in a letter that Psaki would appear before Congress on July 26 to answer questions on the administration’s 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, during which she was press secretary, according to a press release. While the date has been chosen, Psaki agreed to do the interview on the condition that the White House permits her to do so, the press release states. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: House Foreign Affairs Chairman McCaul Warns Jen Psaki — Testify Or Face A Subpoena)
“However, I understand you have conditioned your appearance on approval by the White House. As my staff informed your counsel, it is incumbent on a witness appearing before the Committee to make any third-party arrangements. The Committee is nevertheless available to attend meetings and be included in correspondence between you and the White House to represent the Committee’s equities,” McCaul wrote in the letter, the press release states.
“While I hope to proceed with your voluntary appearance, I expect you to have resolved the conditionality of your appearance by June 26, 2024. If not, I must treat your June 12 response as a refusal to appear and you will be compelled to sit for a deposition on July 26, 2024,” the letter continues.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki talks to reporters during the daily news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on September 01, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 resulted in 13 American military personnel dying from a terrorist attack in Kabul. After the operation concluded, Biden and his administration faced backlash for how it was conducted. The Gold Star parents have repeatedly criticized the president for his operation and failure to properly recognize their fallen children. (RELATED: ‘He And He Alone’: Gold Star Mother Says Biden Responsible For Terrorist Attack That Killed 13 Soldiers In Kabul)
Despite the backlash from the operation, the president reportedly told his aides that he stood by them as no one offered to resign over the fallout, Politico’s Alexander Ward writes in “The Internationalists: The Fight to Restore Foreign Policy After Trump,” which was obtained early by Axios.
After the withdrawal “no one offered to resign, in large part because the president didn’t believe anyone had made a mistake. Ending the war was always going to be messy,” Ward claims.
“Biden told his top aides, [National Security Advisor Jake] Sullivan included, that he stood by them and they had done their best during a tough situation,” the book continues.
During the beginning of the operation, the president and other key officials were taking a brief summer vacation. Secretary of State Antony Blinken went to the Hamptons, then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki was at a beach and Biden was relaxing at Camp David, Franklin Foer wrote in his book, “The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House and the Struggle for America’s Future.”
“I’m contemplating coming back,” Psaki wrote to then-White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain after seeing images of “Afghans falling from the sky,” the book writes.
“I’m sorry,” Klain responded. “I think you need to.”
Several months after the operation in April 2023, the Biden administration internally reviewed its withdrawal, finding that former President Donald Trump was to blame for the botched withdrawal for ordering communication with the Taliban, negotiating a withdrawal date and failing to leave the Biden administration a comprehensive plan on how the operation should be carried out.
Despite the backlash, White House national security council spokesman John Kirby said in April 2023 that the president was “proud” of its operation.
