WASHINGTON, July 1 (Reuters) - A powerful Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives has asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken for details about an investigation into the security clearance of the U.S. envoy for Iran, amid reports he may have mishandled classified documents.
Citing media reports, Michael McCaul, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote to Blinken on Friday, asking why the State Department's special envoy for Iran, Rob Malley, was placed on unpaid leave after his security clearance was suspended earlier this year to investigate the alleged mishandling of classified documents.
"Given the gravity of the situation, it is imperative that the Department expeditiously provide a full and transparent accounting of the circumstances surrounding Special Envoy Malley's clearance suspension and investigation and the Department's statements to Congress regarding Special Envoy Malley," McCaul wrote Blinken in a letter posted on the panel's website.
On Thursday, Malley told Reuters: "I have been informed that my security clearance is under review.
Appointed soon after Democratic President Joe Biden took office in 2021, Malley had the task of trying to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Persons:
Antony Blinken, Michael McCaul, Blinken, Rob Malley, Malley, McCaul, Joe Biden, Donald Trump's, Iran Abram Paley, Brett McGurk, Valerie Volcovici, Arshad Mohammed, William Mallard
Organizations:
Republican, U.S . House, U.S, Foreign Affairs, State, State Department, Reuters, Democratic, reimposed, Iranian, National Security, Thomson
Locations:
U.S, Iran, reimposed U.S, Tehran, United States, East, North, Washington, Saint Paul , Minnesota