Washington, DC — Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement regarding Chairman McCaul’s release of two transcripts of closed-door interviews conducted as part of the Committee’s oversight regarding the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. At Committee hearings in November 2023 and February 2024, Ranking Member Meeks called for greater transparency from the Republican majority concerning its oversight investigations, urging the public release of these and other transcripts from closed-door interviews conducted at the Chairman’s direction. The two transcripts released today are the first to be made public, out of 16 total closed-door transcribed interviews conducted to date on the Afghanistan withdrawal since June 2023. 

The interview transcripts released today include testimony from: 

• Ambassador Ross Wilson (Chargé d’Affaires in Kabul, 2020-2021)  

• Samuel Aronson (junior officer on the consular team during the evacuation) 

Key excerpts of the two transcripts released today can be found here (Amb. Wilson) and here (Aronson). Full versions of the transcripts are available here and here, respectively. 

“I welcome Chairman McCaul’s release today of two transcripts from closed-door interviews with former State Department officials concerning the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and I commend these and other officials who have voluntarily spoken to the Committee on record to inform our oversight work with concrete facts. 

“These two interviews, along with those the Majority has yet to release, undercut the partisan claims repeatedly made by the Republican majority about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Namely, the interviews make clear: the Doha Deal negotiated by the Trump Administration kickstarted the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and aimed to reduce U.S. troops to zero; President Trump ordered incremental U.S. troop drawdowns despite the Taliban not fulfilling the conditions-based terms of the Doha deal, undercutting U.S. and Afghan government leverage and empowering the Taliban; rescinding the Doha Deal would have resulted in renewed Taliban attacks against U.S. personnel and interests; and, despite committing to a May 1, 2021 withdrawal deadline, the Trump Administration failed to undertake necessary preparations for a full withdrawal. 

“The interviews also make clear that, although the Trump Administration’s handoff of Afghanistan policy matters during the presidential transition was non-cooperative, the Biden Administration conducted a robust interagency process to review, plan for, and implement a full withdrawal. The interviews show that, although the precipitous collapse of the Afghan government in August 2021 acutely changed the situation on the ground, State Department officials had the plans, knowledge, and flexibility necessary to successfully undertake a uniquely challenging evacuation of more than 120,000 people.   

“I look forward to the Chairman releasing the remaining and any future closed-door interview transcripts from this investigation, as well as all transcripts from numerous other closed-door interviews in oversight investigations in this Congress. This Committee is accountable to the American people who fund our important oversight work; they deserve to see the results for themselves, rather than the cherry-picked, partisan characterizations that have been selectively released by the majority to score political points.” 

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In addition to the 16 Afghanistan-related transcribed interviews conducted to date, the Committee has conducted seven interviews on other investigative topics, including State Department programs to promote religious freedom and provide humanitarian support to migrants.

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