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Biden’s Former-Envoy to Iran Faces Probe by State Department’s Inspector General
By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh
President Joe Biden’s former special envoy to Iran, Robert Malley, is reportedly facing a probe by the State Department’s Inspector General.
As reported by the NY Post, in January the inspector general’s office advised Congress about the inquiry, which was prompted by questions from lawmakers regarding Malley’s links to Tehran. “The scope of the special review of the suspension of Robert Malley’s clearance will include the procedures the Department used in suspending the clearance as well as actions taken by the Department following the suspension,” the office wrote in a letter to lawmakers, obtained by Semafor. “This will include whether the Department followed proper procedures in suspending his clearance, determining what access to information he could maintain, and deciding the status of his employment.”
Malley, 61 was the U.S.’s Special Representative for Iran since 2021. He had also served in the Clinton administration as Director for Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs at the National Security Council from 1994 to 1996. He had been the lead negotiator on the controversial 2015 Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). That agreement gave Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for temporary restrictions on its nuclear program. Malley had also served the Obama administration, having been appointed as its “point man” on the Middle East. When he was appointed in 2021 by President Biden, Malley was tasked with bringing the U.S. and Iran back into compliance with the JCPOA after it had been abandoned in 2018 by former Republican President Donald Trump.
Per the NY Times, in late 2023 new reports started circulating about Malley, alleging that his true loyalty was to Tehran, not Washington, based on joint reporting by Iran International and Semafor, citing a trove of Iranian diplomats’ emails dated 2003-2021. Per the Post, in April of last year, the Diplomatic Security Service yanked Malley’s security clearance, but did not announce clear reasons for their action. In June, the State Department put Malley on unpaid leave.
Last year, the FBI also reportedly opened an investigation into Malley. Per the Post, lawmakers have been trying to press the Biden administration for answers regarding Malley’s mysterious suspension. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul had alleged that Malley “compromised classified information” related to Iran. “It’s very concerning,” McCaul (R-Texas) said of the allegations.
“He’s a special envoy for Iran. He is the principal architect, the negotiator on the Iran deal – to resurrect the Iran deal.” Still, State Department officials have remained hush-hush in public, refusing to disclose why Malley was put on leave.
Malley had been a controversial figure in the Biden administration based on his willingness to engage with numerous loathsome Middle Eastern figures, including members of terror group Hamas, which savagely attacked Israel on Oct. 7, brutally murdering over 1200 Israelis. “Malley was so entangled with Hamas that Obama had to drop him as an advisor [sic] during the 2008 campaign — before later bringing him back to do Mideast policy,” Omri Ceren, a national security adviser to Sen. Ted Cruz, had said in October.
Now, the inspector general’s team is expected to probe the matter and make the results of that probe public, Semafor reported.
Following his suspension, Malley has been employed at Princeton University. In June, Malley had released a statement saying: “I have not been provided any further information, but I expect the investigation to be resolved favorably and soon. In the meantime, I am on leave,” he told Axios at the time.
