Author and investigator Jerry Dunleavy announced Monday that he had resigned “in protest” from the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s investigation into the botched troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Dunleavy had been tasked with co-leading the investigation into the fiasco as questions remain about President Joe Biden’s handling of the matter.
In a post on X, the author announced his departure with a copy of his resignation letter. “Despite my repeated requests, [Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael] McCaul has failed to seek answers and take responsibility for the debacle.”
While the committee’s investigation has indeed uncovered further evidence detailing the Biden-Harris administration’s responsibility for the horrific events of August 2021 and the perilous global consequences that followed, McCaul and his team have also neglected their duty to find answers for the Abbey Gate Gold Star families, to seek the right documents, to call the right witnesses, to ask the hard questions, to pursue the truth without fear or favor, and to do everything in their power to ensure that a deadly humiliation like this never happens again. McCaul and the committee made promises to the Abbey Gate Gold Star families and to the American public at huge – and those promises simply have not been kept.
The decision to resign and expose this publicly was not an simple one to make, but I could no longer be part of this farce, and my conscience simply does not allow me to remain noiseless – after a year of urging the committee to do the right thing and conduct a sedate investigation that relentlessly seeks the truth, it has become undeniably clear to me that McCaul and his team are unwilling to take even the most basic steps necessary to ensure that President Biden, Vice President Harris, and all of the senior Biden-Harris diplomatic, national security, and military leaders are held accountable for the atrocities that have played out and continue to play out in Afghanistan and around the world. The committee’s disappointing lack of courage and moral clarity simply cannot go unnoticed.
Dunleavy said he felt “a deep obligation to the Abbey Gate Gold Star families, to all Gold Star families of this two-decade war, to all U.S. soldiers who fought in Afghanistan and especially those who died in Afghanistan, and to the American public” because “they all have a right to know how this committee has refused to fulfill its important obligation to thoroughly expose the duplicity of the Biden-Harris administration and its atrocious decisions during America’s withdrawal and defeat in Afghanistan.”
NEW: I have resigned in protest of the House Department of State’s investigation of McCaul into the Biden-Harris administration’s disastrous and deadly Afghanistan withdrawal. Resignation letter below. Despite my repeated requests, McCaul has failed to seek answers for and take responsibility for the debacle.… pic.twitter.com/lTBrKCXJkx
— Jerry Dunleavy IV 🇺🇸 (@JerryDunleavy) 12 August 2024
In his resignation letter, Dunleavy criticized the way the committee conducted its investigation into the Afghanistan withdrawal and the series of failures that led to the disaster. He describes the situation as “a diplomatic failure, an intelligence failure, a military failure, a strategic failure, a policy failure, a planning failure, a political failure, a truth-seeking failure, and a moral failure,” and stresses that each of these aspects requires thorough investigation.
The investigator said his efforts to investigate key aspects of the withdrawal had been “repeatedly blocked by our chief investigator and senior staff,” leading to what he called “investigative paralysis.”
Dunleavy’s frustration stems in huge part from his unwillingness to hold senior officials accountable for their missteps — particularly Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he describes as a key figure in the decision-making surrounding the withdrawal. He believes she should be held accountable now that she is the Democratic presidential nominee. He expressed disappointment that the committee has taken “zero steps in that direction” and said he has “experienced resistance from my superiors about taking any action on this matter.”
Dunleavy’s letter addresses the committee’s mismanagement of key witnesses, including military personnel and former officials involved in the operation. He points to the permissive treatment of Zalmay Khalilzad, the former special envoy for Afghan reconciliation, who was not questioned seriously enough about his role in the failed negotiations with the Taliban.
The former investigator claims the committee “sidetracked” Khalilzad on key issues and tried to downplay his role in the flawed negotiations. There is evidence that committee members did not take the matter seriously.
“Immediately after Khalilzad finished his testimony, our lead investigator walked up to him on the hearing room floor and asked for (and got) a smiling selfie with him in full view of the press and public – the hearing room audience included Afghanistan War veterans and Gold Star families,” Dunleavy wrote.
In his closing remarks, Dunleavy expressed concern that the failures in the withdrawal from Afghanistan have not been adequately addressed. He fears that these failures will have sedate consequences for future US foreign policy.
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Chairman McCaul’s office defended the investigation, pointing to transcribed interviews with about 20 senior administration officials and hearings with key figures, including General Mark Milley and General Kenneth McKenzie Jr.
Emily Cassil, spokeswoman for Chairman McCaul, said lawmakers are taking the investigation seriously.
“Having worked for Chairman McCaul for two years, I can tell you that he is passionate about finding answers for our Gold Star families and Afghanistan veterans. That will be evident in a few weeks when he releases his comprehensive report, the culmination of thousands of hours of work at both the staff and member levels. Its release will not be the end of our work, but a critical next step in ensuring the personal accountability that the Biden-Harris administration denied.”
Despite jurisdictional limitations and the Biden administration’s unwillingness to cooperate, the committee has obtained key witnesses and documents that shed more featherlight on the withdrawal, Cassil said. He also noted that the process could cause frustration among people unfamiliar with the inner workings and constitutional aspects of these matters.
