The Biden administration's top diplomat for Iran, Robert Malley, has been sidelined for nearly a year while under federal investigation, without any official explanation from the State Department, however, new information about the case is emerging, revealing troubling allegations, Report informs with the reference to The Washington Post.
In a letter obtained by the Washington Post, Sen. James E. Risch (Idaho) and Rep. Mike McCaul (Tex.), the top Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committees, respectively, decried the lack of transparency from the State Department and laid out the results of their own inquiry.
"Due to the Department's evasiveness and lack of transparency, we have worked to glean information from other sources," Risch and McCaul wrote in the letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. "Our own investigations have uncovered the following information and troubling allegations. We ask that you confirm the information we have learned."
According to the letter, Malley's security clearance was suspended by the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service because he allegedly transferred classified documents to his personal email account and downloaded these documents to his personal cell phone. The Republican lawmakers also claim that a "hostile cyber actor" was able to gain access to Malley's email and/or phone, obtaining the downloaded information.
Appointed by President Biden in 2021, Malley was intimately involved in back-channel talks with Iran. Last June, the State Department acknowledged that he had been placed on leave, and subsequent reports revealed that the FBI is also participating in the investigation. However, the Justice Department has not filed any charges or made any public comments on the matter.