The State Department’s inspector general has reportedly launched an investigation into the suspension of President Biden’s special envoy for Iran, Robert Malley.
The Office of the Inspector General notified members of Congress about the internal investigation on January 23, Semaphore News reported Saturday, citing correspondence seen by the outlet.
“The scope of the special review of Robert Murray’s license suspension includes the procedures the Department used to suspend the license and the actions the Department took after the suspension,” said Ryan Holden, Director of Congressional and Public Affairs for the Inspector General. ” he said. is reported to have been said in the letter. “This includes whether the department followed appropriate procedures in suspending his permit, determining access to information he could maintain, and determining his employment status.”
Holden told lawmakers that the inspector general is interviewing State Department officials and reviewing documents and emails as part of the investigation, and a report will be released at a later date.
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Robert Murray, Vice President for Policy at the International Crisis Group, spoke at the Forum MED Mediterranean Dialogue Summit in Rome on 30 November 2017. (Ricardo De Luca/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
“The special review will also examine which officials were involved in these decisions and how the process compares to processes used for other types of employees,” the letter added. Ta.
Fox News Digital contacted the State Department about this report on Monday, but did not immediately receive a response.
The investigation came in response to growing questions from members of Congress about the Diplomatic Security Service’s decision to revoke his security clearance last April.
Lawmakers reportedly said that Mr. Marley was in charge of some of the special envoys for about three months before the State Department formally placed him on unpaid leave in late June amid an investigation into his confidentiality. He reportedly expressed concern that he continued to carry out his duties. Lawmakers had hoped a new inspector general investigation would shed light on why.
Robert Malley, then director of the International Crisis Group’s Middle East and North Africa program, has since resigned and testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, DC, on January 23, 2007. (Jamie Rose/Getty Images)
Republican officials who spoke with Semafor expressed doubts that details of the inspector general’s investigation would be made public before the November election, given the scope of the investigation.
Murray, who had held the position since January 2021, is also under investigation by the FBI for allegedly mishandling classified documents.He played a key role in the Biden administration’s recovery efforts 2015 Iran nuclear deal. In 2018, then-President Trump chose to withdraw from the nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions on Iran.
Biden’s suspended special envoy to Iran once promoted engagement with terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah
Before becoming special envoy, Marley held a leadership role at the nonprofit International Crisis Group, which reached a formal research agreement with Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2016, Semafor reported earlier this month. reported. The outlet said the deal had not been made public.
Robert Malley, the National Security Council’s senior director for Iran, Iraq, Syria and the Gulf States, and other U.S. and EU officials attend the Iran nuclear talks in a Vienna hotel on June 30, 2015, in Tehran. He was present along with other officials. (Pool/Siamek Ebrahimi/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Mr. Malley’s previous efforts to promote U.S. engagement with the Iranian-backed Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist groups have come under scrutiny following the Oct. 7 terrorist attack carried out by Hamas in southern Israel. Still, Murray, who remains on administrative leave from the State Department, is teaching a class at Yale University this semester titled “The Struggle with Israel and Palestine,” whose purpose is “to address key issues surrounding Israeli-Palestinian relations.” It means thinking deeply. It’s a conflict,” Yale News reported.
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The Biden administration has remained largely silent about Marley since his summer suspension, and a new envoy has been named to replace him. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Mr. Murray’s high school classmates in Paris, initially supported Mr. Murray’s diplomatic efforts.
