Republicans lawmakers have uncovered “troubling allegations” that President Biden’s suspended special envoy to Iran, Robert Malley, stored classified material on his personal email account and cellphone — which was later accessed by a “hostile cyber actor.”
The top Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committee on Monday asked the State Department to confirm the allegations against Malley, who was quietly placed on unpaid leave last June and had his security clearance suspended amid a State Department investigation reportedly centered on his potential mishandling of classified information.
The State Department has refused to reveal the exact nature of the allegations against Malley, leading Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member James Risch (R-Idaho) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) to launch their own investigation into Biden’s top diplomat for Iran.
“Due to the Department’s evasiveness and lack of transparency, we have worked to glean information from other sources,” Risch and McCaul wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, obtained by the Washington Post. “Our own investigations have uncovered the following information and troubling allegations. We ask that you confirm the information we have learned.”
“Specifically, we understand that Mr. Malley’s security clearance was suspended because he allegedly transferred classified documents to his personal email account and downloaded these documents to his personal cell phone,” Risch and McCaul wrote.
“It is unclear to whom he intended to provide these documents, but it is believed that a hostile cyber actor was able to gain access to his email and/or phone and obtain the downloaded information,” they added.
The lawmakers asked Blinken to provide more information about the amount of documents Malley allegedly had on personal devices and their level of classification.
They also wanted to know whether Malley tried to send the classified material to anyone without a security clearance and whether Iran was responsible for the alleged hack, among several other queries related to the State Department and FBI’s ongoing investigation into the matter.
“The allegations we have been privy to are extremely troubling and demand immediate answers,” Risch and McCaul wrote.
“These allegations have substantial impact on our national security and people should be held accountable swiftly and strongly,” they added.
A State Department spokesperson told The Post Tuesday that Malley remains on leave and that the department has provided Congress with information on personnel inquiries related to Iran policy.
The spokesperson did not comment on the specific allegations uncovered by Risch and McCaul.
In 2015, the FBI opened a criminal investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for conduct similar to the allegations against Malley.
Clinton was found to have stored tens of thousands of emails from her time at the State Department on several different unsecured private servers – including 81 email chains that discussed classified information and seven that referred to classified material determined to be at the Top Secret/Special Access Program level.
The FBI determined that Clinton was “extremely careless” and that hostile actors may have gained access to her personal email account but did not charge her with a crime.
