House GOP subpoena State Department for China sanction docs

The Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee slapped a subpoena on the State Department Wednesday for documents allegedly detailing the agency’s refusal to get tough on China.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) issued the subpoena demanding Secretary of State Antony Blinken furnish files that could shed light on whether the department shied away from deploying sanctions and export controls on Beijing-backed entities in response to the spy balloon debacle earlier this year.

“Given the State Department’s continued refusal to comply with my committee’s urgent request for crucial information related to China, I am left with no choice but to issue a subpoena,” McCaul said in a statement.

“It is vital the committee obtain these documents to shed light on the department’s reported failure to enforce US national security laws against CCP companies and human rights abusers,” he added. “The department must comply as legally obligated, further obstruction and delay will not be tolerated.”

McCaul gave Blinken until 10 a.m. July 17 to produce the material.

McCaul initially requested access to the files, called “competitive actions” calendars, on May 24 following a Reuters report claiming the department held back on punitive actions in a bid to mend Washington’s relationship with Beijing.

In February, a suspected Chinese spy balloon floated through US airspace for nearly a week and hovered over sensitive military sites.

Military officials identified it almost immediately, but didn’t disclose its existence to the public until after civilians spotted it over Montana.

McCaul has previously clashed with the State Department over his requests for information.

Earlier this year, he issued a subpoena for a dissent cable in which US diplomats at the embassy in Kabul warned in July 2021 of serious risks that the Afghanistan government would collapse once American forces withdrew from Afghanistan.

Taliban forces swooped back to power the following month.

Despite that subpoena, the State Department resisted sharing the cable for some time, prompting McCaul to threaten contempt.

By June, Blinken relented and agreed to let the full panel read the dissent cable.

Blinken visited China for a two-day meeting last month.

That trip had was initially slated for February, but got postponed due to the balloon ordeal.

His trip marked the first time a sitting Secretary of State had visited Beijing in five years.

Last week, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited China, marking another overture by the Biden administration in its bid to thaw out icy relations between the two world powers.