The State Department Inspector General has released a blistering report documenting how probable Iranian agent-of-influence Robert Malley was allowed to have access to highly classified information and meetings even after his security clearance was belatedly pulled by the Biden-Harris regime for mishandling classified information. Unlike former President Trump, Malley was never prosecuted for his mishandling of classified information even though he was closely affiliated with an Iranian-sponsored group dubbed the “Iran Experts Initiative” (IEI), a network of influential academics and researchers across the world who would advocate on behalf of Tehran on several important issues — see High-Level Iranian Spy Ring Busted in Washington.
State Department officials failed to follow standard procedures when handling the security clearance suspension of Iran special envoy Rob Malley, leading to “significant confusion” about what work he was allowed to do, the department’s inspector general has concluded following a monthslong investigation.
In some instances, the confusion “likely led” Malley to engage on topics “outside the limited scope of issues on which he was authorized to work,” according to the report, which was obtained by POLITICO.
The words “deviated” and “confusion” are doing a lot of heavy lifting in the reporting as the White House lied to Congress about Malley’s status.
Malley’s whereabouts first raised questions when he skipped a classified congressional briefing on Iran in May 2023. At the time, State Department officials told lawmakers that Malley was on “extended personal leave” and suggested that his absence might be related to a family health issue.
In addition to lying, the State Department did not take action to limit Malley’s access to highly classified information and meetings. Rather the opposite, the State Department’s senior leadership hid Malley’s lack of security clearance so it could not be enforced.
Information about Malley’s situation was withheld from senior State Department officials, including his own deputy, according to some who attended the briefing. The inspector general further determined that Malley was still performing his official duties after his security clearance was revoked, again in breach of State Department protocol.
The briefing and accompanying report provide a rare window into Malley’s suspension and the circumstances surrounding it. The Iran envoy’s security clearance was originally revoked in late April 2023, but the State Department kept it hidden from public view for more than two months. That process “deviated” from department policy, the inspector general determined.
“The Department deviated from the way that suspensions are typically delivered by delaying notification to Mr. Malley until senior Department officials were apprised of his suspension,” according to a copy of the report. “The delay allowed him the opportunity to participate in a classified conference call after the suspension was approved, but before he was notified.”
It isn’t clear exactly what resulted in the suspension of Malley’s clearance, as the State Department has refused to explain it to Congress. What is clear is that Iranian media is the best source of information on his suspension.
On Sunday, an Iranian state news outlet, the Tehran Times, published what appears to be a highly sensitive State Department document. In an April 21st letter to Malley, the director of the Department’s Diplomatic Security Office, Erin E. Smart, informed the diplomat that, for the time being at least, he couldn’t be trusted with handling classified U.S. government documents and intelligence.
Her office “received information regarding you that raises serious security concerns and can be disqualifying” under a number of U.S. government guidelines, Smart wrote, according to the published copy of the letter. She added: “Your national security eligibility, including your Top Secret security clearance, is suspended pending an ongoing investigation.”
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Staffers on Capitol Hill are also raising concerns about the Iranian government’s access to State Department communications and deliberations. The Tehran Time’s article is just the latest in a string of scoops the outlet has published about the Malley affair, including U.S. government documents, audio recordings of the diplomat, and dates and reasons tied to his departure. So far, most have proven to be accurate.
BACKGROUND:
Congressional Republicans Find Evidence Biden’s Iran Envoy Downloaded and Shared Classified Docs
Biden Admin Has Another Classified Doc Problem – This Time Involving ‘Lack of Candor’ and Iran
Malley has long had problematic connections to the Iranian regime that call into question his suitability for any federal position outside a federal penitentiary; see In Vienna, the Biden Administration Is Giving Away the Store to Iran, and Russia Is Helping.
As noted earlier, Malley was the head of what amounts to an Iranian intelligence operation to affect US policy on Iran. When he entered the Biden-Harris regime, he brought along acolytes who were placed in influential positions inside the defense and foreign policy apparatus. One of those, Ariane Tabatabai, became chief of staff to Christopher Maier, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, the Defense Department’s top counterterrorism official.
BACKGROUND:
Why Is Alleged Iranian Operative Ariane Tabatabai Still Working in the Pentagon?
Tabatabai seems to be protected by Kamala Harris; see Defense Official With Frequent White House Visits and Known Iranian Ties Has a Link to Kamala Harris.
Her patron is none other than Phil Gordon, Kamala Harris’s national security adviser.
Tabatabai’s access to the White House is driving renewed scrutiny in the wake of an investigation by Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) into her relationship with vice president Kamala Harris’s national security adviser, Phil Gordon. Tabatabai and Gordon coauthored at least three opinion pieces that argued against sanctions on the Iranian regime.
Gordon is affiliated with the National Iranian American Council (NIAC). The group is so closely associated with Iran that it is frequently referred to as Tehran’s lobbying arm in Washington. In 2012, NIAC sued a journalist for referring to them as agents of the Tehran regime, and the judge tossed the case because there was no proof that the journalist was wrong.
The long-term protection and coddling of Malley, a guy who can be described without malice or hyperbole as a hardcore Iranian sympathizer, shows the degree to which hostile foreign powers penetrate the Biden-Harris gang. The “investigation” of Malley of improperly handling classified information is both an exemplar and a warning. It is an exemplar in that the Department of Justice is pursuing a political prosecution of former president Donald Trump on that point, while the documents in question were stored in a place guarded by the Secret Service, but are unwilling to prosecute someone in Kamala Harris’s circle who seems to have given classified information to Iran. It is a warning because if Harris is elected, Malley’s investigation will go away, and he’ll end up with a senior position at the State Department or the National Security Council.
