Two Republican lawmakers have stated that they believe the security clearance of U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley, who has been placed on unpaid leave, was suspended because he sent classified documents to his personal email and downloaded them onto his personal phone. Senator Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul did not provide any source for these allegations in a letter dated May 6 to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The Washington Post was the first to report on the letter yesterday.
The letter offered the most detailed explanation yet for the suspension of Malley's security clearance: "We understand that Mr. Malley's security clearance was suspended because he transferred classified documents to his personal email and downloaded those documents onto his personal mobile phone." They added in the letter: "It is believed that a hostile cyber actor was able to access his email and/or phone and obtain the downloaded information." They criticized the department for not providing more information regarding Malley's case and posed 19 questions about it to Blinken.
A State Department spokesperson stated that Malley remains on leave, adding that "under a policy that has been in place for decades, the department does not comment on individual security clearances." Malley was appointed shortly after President Joe Biden took office in 2021, tasked with trying to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal following former President Donald Trump's decision in 2018 to withdraw from the agreement and reimpose U.S. sanctions on Tehran. Those efforts failed amid growing disputes between the U.S. and Iran over issues ranging from the nuclear program, Tehran's support for proxy forces in the Middle East, and Iran's first direct attack on Israeli territory on April 13.
