Republicans to hold Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress on March 7 for withholding Afghanistan withdrawal documents for MONTHS: Top Republican Michael McCaul says he will have phone call with the 'busy' secretary first, and blamed State Department staff

Republicans are moving forward with holding Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress next week after he ignored repeated requests for Afghanistan withdrawal documents.

Chairman Michael McCaul, who is leading the investigation into the administration's messy 2021 exit, announced the House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a markup on the contempt articles on March 7. 

'We've noticed the contempt hearing for next Thursday,' the chairman told DailyMail.com shortly after the House passed a critical short-term funding bill to avert a partial government shutdown.

Blinken is 'a busy guy, and I'm not sure his staff have served him well on this,' McCaul added. 'But we've been more than patient with him.'

Republicans' petition for State Department AAR (after-action review) team's interview notes has been 'an outstanding request for almost a year now,' he added.

McCaul also confirmed he will have a phone call with Blinken on Friday to discuss the hearing and the AAR documents. 

If successful, it will be the first time in U.S. history that a secretary of state is held in contempt of Congress. 

Rep. Michael McCaul, the head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced his panel will hold a markup on the contempt articles on March 7 and already noticed Blinken and his team

Last July, the State Department quietly released a 87-page report condemning his administration's failure to prepare for the Afghanistan's rapid collapse at the hands of the Taliban in 2021

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul is reigniting his previous threats to take legal action against Blinken after he has 'obstructed' Congress' requests for documents

It comes days after he reignited his previous threats to take legal action against Blinken earlier this week, saying Blinken 'obstructed' Congress' many requests for documents.

'It is appalling that over two years after the deadly and chaotic withdrawal, the Department continues to choose politics over policy,' McCaul wrote in a letter exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com Monday.

He had said his committee would 'pursue' holding Blinken in contempt of Congress if he failed to provide the AARs by March 6. 

The GOP chairman is specifically demanding AAR files from those most intimately involved in the chaotic withdrawal that will help Republicans complete their investigation and shape legislation to prevent the 'catastrophic mistakes' from ever happening again by providing 'access to the truth.'

McCaul said earlier this week his committee has pursued the AAR team's interview notes 'in good faith and with every effort to compromise.'

But, he added, the department has 'not negotiated in good faith and has failed to both comply with the Committee's July 2023 subpoena and fulfill your August 11 personal commitment to cooperate with this investigation.'

Again, he stressed the 'legislative need for these primary source documents.'

McCaul wrote Monday that department officials told his committee that the Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources Rich Verma 'personally reviewed' the AAR notes. 

But said they are currently being withheld by the White House and National Security Council.

'The officials communicated this decision is now above their 'paygrade,'' he stated in the letter obtained by DailyMail.com.

Republicans are still working to hold the Biden administration accountable after the hasty exit from Afghanistan in 2021, during which 13 American service members and at least 170 Afghans were killed. 

The Americans killed in the blast were: (left to right, starting with top row) Cpl. Daegan W. Page - Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo - Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover - Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza - Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum - Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui - Cpl. Hunter Lopez - Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz - Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss - Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez - Navy Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak - Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola - Sgt. Nicole L. Gee

In addition, the family members of the 13 U.S. troops killed are still demanding answers as not a single Biden administration official has taken the blame for the horrors that unfolded during the withdrawal.

McCaul says the documents are necessary to 'prevent the catastrophic mistakes of the withdrawal from happening again.'

The back and forth between McCaul and the State Department has been going on for months. 

McCaul first subpoenaed the department on July 18 for the AAR documents. 

He described the department's response to that subpoena 'anemic' and unacceptable.

McCaul and Blinken spoke on the phone on August 11, where the secretary 'personally' promised to provide the chairman the information he is seeking.

But now, the 'committee’s patience has been exhausted,' continues McCaul in the letter. 

Last year, the committee postponed holding Blinken in contempt of Congress over a separate issue - after he agreed to allow committee leadership to view a classified dissenting cable that U.S. State Department employees sent prior to the Taliban's takeover of Kabul on July 13, 2021.

The cable warned about a 'deteriorating' security situation' and urged the immediate evacuation of allies, a warning that the Biden administration did not heed, say Republicans. 

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul is reigniting his previous threats to take legal action against Blinken

The committee had requested that Naz Durakoglu, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Legislative Affairs and Richard Visek in the Office of the Legal Adviser sit for transcribed interviews.

Last July, the State Department quietly released a 87-page report condemning his administration's failure to prepare for the Afghanistan's rapid collapse at the hands of the Taliban in 2021.

The investigation found serious pitfalls in leadership and questions about who was in charge before and during the mayhem

'The decisions of both President Trump and President Biden to end the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan had serious consequences for the viability of the Afghan government and its security,' the report says.

'Those decisions are beyond the scope of this review, but the (review) team found that during both administrations there was insufficient senior-level consideration of worst-case scenarios and how quickly those might follow.'

It also outlined several strategic failures as the Taliban overran cities - saying there wasn't enough consideration given to 'worst-case scenarios.'

As a result, thousands of allies who helped the U.S. in the war were left behind, and there was chaos at Hamid Karzai International Airport as men, women and children tried desperately to flee.

Even though planning for the evacuation of Kabul began 'some time' beforehand, the State Department was 'hindered by the fact that it was unclear who in the Department had the lead.'