Antony Blinken's answer to Pulp Fiction 'cleaner' Winston Wolfe failed to answer questions 100 TIMES when quizzed about disastrous Afghanistan exit, damning transcripts reveal

It was perhaps the most consequential of President Joe Biden administration's foreign policy decisions: How to bring home American troops from Afghanistan while keeping diplomats, American citizens and Afghan allies safe.

Yet when one of the State Department's key officials was quizzed by congressional investigators on how the effort descended into chaos he could not remember the details.

Hours of closed-door testimony obtained by DailyMail.com reveal how Derek Chollet, the secretary of state's top troubleshooter who compared himself with Winston 'the Wolf' Wolfe in 'Pulp Fiction', answered 100 times that he did not remember, could not recall or did not know details that might illuminate what went wrong.

He said he could not remember the foreign counterparts with whom he worked during the emergency evacuation.

Nor could he remember whether Wendy Sherman, the deputy secretary of state, was involved in planning the withdrawal—'she probably was .... but I don't recall specifically.'

Derek Chollet was one of the key advisers to Secretary of State Antony Blinken during the calamitous 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. But during closed door testimony with House Foreign Affairs Committee investigators he said he could not remember, could not recall or did not know details from the period as many as 100 times

The speed of the Taliban advance on Kabul apparently took U.S. officials by surprise. The result was a scramble to protect diplomats, U.S. citizens and Afghan allies. A military Chinook helicopter is seen here above the U.S. Embassy on Aug. 15, 2021, as part of the evacuation

Nor did he have any recollection of seeing a memo prepared by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security for the incoming Biden administration setting out the challenges of keeping an embassy running after U.S. troops.

And he said he could not remember details of the 'prudent planning process' for withdrawal or the four options it produced.

He was asked: 'Did any of the options that were formulated contemplate the possibility of the Taliban controlling Afghanistan?'

'I don't recall,' he said.

The question cuts to the heart of the chaos that erupted as American troops left Afghanistan in 2021.

The Taliban seized control of Kabul in the middle of August and the U.S.-backed government collapsed much faster than intelligence forecasts suggested.

The result was desperate scenes at the city's international airport, where American citizens had to navigate Taliban checkpoints to get to safety. Hundreds were left behind after American troops left on August 31.

Tragedy struck amid the confusion, when a suicide bomber killed 13 U.S. personnel and more than 160 Afghans. 

The House Foreign Affairs Committee's investigation is designed to shed light on why military warnings and internal State Department concerns, and why it apparently took so long for the administration to respond to Taliban advances.

But Chollet's answers infuriated Rep. Michael McCaul, its chairman, so much that he took the extraordinary step of publicly condemning his 'feigned forgetfulness.'

Chollet's official job title is counselor of the Department of State. But in an interview he compared himself with Winston Wolfe, the 'Pulp Fiction' troubleshooter played by Harvey Keitel.  'It's a little bit of the Wolf from Pulp Fiction, you know, here to fix problems,' he said

Taliban gunmen rolled into the capital on August 15, 2001, as the withdrawal of U.S. troops triggered the collapse of the Afghan government's fighting forces

The result was pandemonium at Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport. Foreign nationals rushed for evacuation flights and Afghans tried to seek any way out of the country

Chollet worked for the Clinton and Obama administrations before joining the Biden State State Department. He is seen here with his current boss Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and former boss James A. Baker III, who was secretary of state from 1989 to 1993

He wrote to the Senate Armed Services Committee in February that his 'alarming lack of candor' made Challot unsuitable for a new role at the Pentagon.

'I do not make this recommendation lightly; during his transcribed interview, Mr. Chollet exhibited not only a failure to take accountability for his role in the withdrawal but also a disregard for Congress,' he wrote.

But a State Department official said there was nothing unusual about the interview.

'It is exceptionally common for individuals to say they do not recall specific details from events several years prior during an interview to ensure they provide accurate information,' said an official.

Chollet may operate largely under the public radar, but he has been a key foreign policy player in Democratic circles for years. He worked at the Pentagon, State Department and White House in the Obama administration before taking on the role of counselor at the State Department under Biden.  

In a War on the Rocks podcast, he described how he spent more than half of his time with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, helping with policy priorities. 

'It's a little bit of the Wolf from Pulp Fiction, you know, here to fix problems,' he said, referencing the organized crime 'cleaner' played by Harvey Keitel. 

Chollet appeared before House investigators on Dec. 19, 2023. 

Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, slammed Chollet for his failure to answer questions, accusing him of 'feigned forgetfulness'

A partially redacted transcript runs to 185 pages, and features Chollet saying that he cannot recall or cannot remember time after time.

Some episodes are understandable, like when he could not remember attending an international conference in Istanbul. It turned out that he had instead recorded a video message to be shown at the event.

But he claimed he could not remember other events with implications for U.S. alliances.

For example, before Biden announced the withdrawal on April 14 he described calling foreign counterparts to let them know of the decision.

'And do you recall who those foreign counterparts were?' he was asked.

'I do not,' he said.

'Did they include the United Kingdom as part of those foreign counterparts?'

'I don't recall that, but I can't rule it out.'

Thousands of desperate Afghans, including people who had worked for the U.S., packed on to military transport planes to escape the country's new rulers

This handout picture posted on the Twitter account of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, August 31, 2021 shows Ambassador Ross Wilson (C) holding a US flag and poses with members of the US Embassy in Kabul, before they depart Afghanistan

Chollet said he spent more than half his time with Secretary of State Antony Blinken

London was among foreign allies that later criticized the withdrawal and said it had been blindsided by the decision.

At times the frustration of questioners is clear, like when Chollet says he cannot remember that the Taliban refused to attend a different conference in Istanbul, a gathering proposed by Biden to promote peace talks between militants and the Afghan government.

'So I think a better question is—because we've had a series of questions in which you don't recall what transpired during that period in Afghanistan,' said the questioner. 

'And I know that the chairman is very interested, given the lives that were sacrificed, both by the United States as well as the Afghan civilians, which continue to be under the oppression of the Taliban. 

'Maybe it's a better question to ask, what do you remember around this period?'

State Department Spokesperson Matt Miller defended Chollet and his role.

'Derek Chollet is an outstanding public servant who has served with distinction and plays a leading role within the State Department. 

'Attempts to undermine him by cherry picking from his voluntary interview where he provided detailed, thorough, truthful, and extensive answers on what was a complex, constantly evolving situation are wrong.'