Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, now a host on MSNBC, missed another deadline to sit for a transcribed interview with House lawmakers conducting oversight of the Biden administration's botched withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
As Townhall reported in late May, following months of refusals on the part of Psaki to cooperate with a congressional inquiry, Psaki was again reminded that her "thin legal arguments" used in attempts to "dodge responsibility" for her role as the president's spokesperson during the Afghan withdrawal, were not sufficient.
After all, if Psaki was able to publish a memoir about her time as press secretary, she would certainly be able to answer questions about the same timeline in an interview with lawmakers.
In a May 21 letter, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) — whose committee is investigating Biden's disastrous and deadly withdrawal — declared that "Psaki's deliberate noncompliance" had gone on long enough and again requested Psaki choose one of three dates to sit for a transcribed interview — June 12, June 25, or July 9 — and notify the committee of her choice by May 28.
It's now June 5, and Psaki is still dodging accountability — so McCaul is ramping up the pressure in a new letter to Psaki's legal counsel and threatening to use "compulsory process" to force Psaki to answer his committee's questions.
McCaul's message is: sit for an interview or be subpoenaed to appear.
"Your client Jen Psaki has failed to adequately respond to my letter dated May 21, 2024, requesting that she appear before the Committee for a transcribed interview relating to my investigation into the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan," McCaul writes in his latest missive sent Wednesday. "Your client’s disregard for my request is an affront to this Committee and the U.S. House of Representatives," he emphasizes.
Referring to the flimsy grounds on which Psaki has avoided cooperating, McCaul says he is "troubled by your and Ms. Psaki’s stated 'deference' to outdated 'concerns' from the White House Counsel’s Office. Further, Ms. Psaki is a private citizen, who has published her insight into the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan for public consumption and personal profit," he adds of her recently published memoir.
"Ms. Psaki’s duty to appear before Congress is manifest, and her former employer’s desire to avoid congressional oversight is not relevant," McCaul reiterates of the Biden White House.
Giving Psaki one last chance to comply willingly with congressional oversight, McCaul offers June 26, July 9, and July 23 as dates for the MSNBC host to sit for a transcribed interview. This time, the deadline for a response is June 12.
"I hope Ms. Psaki chooses to appear voluntarily," McCaul's letter states, "otherwise I will be forced to turn to compulsory process."