State Department Rejects Accusation That It Is Blocking Congressional Oversight of 2019 Arms Sales
A State Department spokesperson criticized accusations levied this week by House and Senate Democratic leaders over the administration’s 2019 emergency military sales to Gulf states, saying the agency has been transparent during a congressional probe of the sales. Reps. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bob Menendez, D.-N.J., subpoenaed four State Department officials Aug. 3 over what they say was an improper use of emergency powers to expedite arms sales (see 2008030046), adding that the agency was “stonewalling” their investigation.
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In a statement, the State Department spokesperson said that the agency has offered a “very clear path for every individual requested to engage with the [House] Committees” and that it has been fully cooperating with the oversight. “The latest outrageous accusations … that the Department is ‘stonewalling’ their investigation into the removal of Steve Linick as State Department Inspector General is egregiously inaccurate,” the spokesperson said. “The Department has been offering good faith proposals to satisfy their oversight inquiry … [but] all of the offers have been rejected, manipulated by the Committees, or outright ignored.”