Josh Rogan
Washington Post, May 7, 2024
“When and how did the cyber actor compromise Mr. Malley’s account? Did the compromise of Mr. Malley’s device enable subsequent compromise of other senior officials at the State Department, National Security Council, or other agencies? How did the malign cyber actor utilize the information obtained from Mr. Malley?”
Considering Iran’s collaboration with U.S. adversaries in the Middle East crisis and the Ukraine war, not to mention the Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions, the Biden administration would surely like to have its top diplomat for Iran on the playing field. But the State Department’s special envoy, Robert Malley, has been sidelined while under federal investigation for going on one year — without any official explanation. Now, new information about the case is coming to light.
Malley, who was appointed to his role by President Biden in 2021 and was intimately involved in back-channel talks with Iran, was placed on leave and had his security clearance suspended in April 2023. On Monday, the top Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committees sent a letter, a copy of which I obtained, to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, decrying the lack of information about the official investigation and laying out the results of their own inquiry.
“Due to the Department’s evasiveness and lack of transparency, we have worked to glean information from other sources,” Sen. James E. Risch (Idaho) and Rep. Mike McCaul (Tex.) wrote in the letter. “Our own investigations have uncovered the following information and troubling allegations. We ask that you confirm the information we have learned.”.
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