A government watchdog group is suing the Biden-Harris administration for obstructing a year-long investigation into Defense Department official Arian Tabatabai, who is part of a secret pro-Iranian influence group run by the hardline government.
America First Legal, a nonprofit watchdog group run by former Trump administration officials, on Tuesday accused the Pentagon of obstructing investigations into Tabatabai and other senior U.S. officials over the past year, according to a copy of the filing. and filed a lawsuit against the Department of Defense. Retrieved by Washington Free Beacon.
The organization had initially requested a trove of internal documents from the Pentagon and State Department as part of an investigation into Tabatabai’s ties to numerous pro-Tehran supporters. Mishandling confidential information. The investigation comes amid growing concerns that Tabatabai, Malley and other senior Biden-Harris officials are engaging in back-channel diplomacy with Iran in hopes of strengthening ties with the hardline regime. started.
The Biden-Harris administration doesn’t seem to care about these concerns. Mr. Tabatabai was recently promoted to assistant secretary of defense in the office of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, where he leads the military’s education and training division. She was offered the job last month, just before the explosive leak of classified US information about Israel’s preparations for a future attack on Iran.
In addition to this lawsuit, America First Legal provided the Free Beacon with a cache of newly filed Freedom of Information Act requests seeking details of those who may have leaked that information. The leak contains top secret documents from the US intelligence community and is believed to have been motivated by a desire to disadvantage the Jewish state ahead of November’s elections.
A combination of joint litigation and FOIA campaigns provides a behind-the-scenes look at the Biden-Harris administration’s private talks on Iran and Israel, the ongoing Middle East conflict, and the resumption of diplomacy with Iran under four Democratic administrations. This could help reveal previously unknown details, such as the efforts of Years of service.
“The Biden-Harris administration has appointed pro-Iranian apologists and influencers to sensitive positions in the Defense and State Departments,” said Reid Rubinstein, senior vice president at America First Legal. . “Our lawsuit and recent investigative demands should shed useful light on the role these individuals played in leaking and sharing U.S. information with Muslims.”
The watchdog group alleges in its lawsuit that the Pentagon deliberately delayed requests for internal documents and communications, including encrypted text messages sent between Mr. Malley and Mr. Tabatabai and individuals within the Iranian government. criticized.
The first request for this information was sent in October 2023, shortly after it was revealed that Murray had been suspended amid an investigation into his handling of classified information. Additionally, Tabatabai, a former State Department official who now works on classified matters at the Pentagon, is a member of the Iran Experts Initiative, a vast influence network created by the Iranian government, and is also a member of the Murry Company. There were also reports that two people involved were involved.
The watchdog group’s search parameters include the following keywords: “Robert Malley,” “IEI,” “Hamas,” “Hezbollah,” “Iran,” “Zionist,” “clearance,” and “TS/SCI.” Mentioned information marked as confidential.
Emails with the Pentagon said the agency was legally required to respond to organizations’ FOIA requests within 20 days, but faced “complex processing queues” and ” It claimed that the deadline had been exceeded, claiming that the relevant documents could not be submitted due to “unusual circumstances.” In 2023, it will become American First Legal.
Meanwhile, American First Legal, in its latest series of FOIA requests, has asked the Department of Defense, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the State Department, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for all the information its employees have worked on since classified intelligence. petitioned to hand over documents detailing internal communications. The report to Israel was made public.
The top-secret information was originally posted on a pro-Iranian Telegram channel and then spread online, reportedly forcing Israel to delay its attack on Iran to prevent defense preparations.
Although the identity of the leaker is unknown, outside groups such as America First Legal believe that any number of Biden-Harris administration officials may be trying to prevent an Israeli counterattack, including Tehran’s October 1 ballistic missile attack on the country. It is suspected that the information may have been released in retaliation for the attack. The Pentagon this week denied that Mr. Tabatabai was involved in the breach or that he was a point person in the investigation.
America First Legal requires government agencies to release all records related to Iran, Israel, leaks, investigations, and cables, but this is a far-reaching The request could shed light on the administration’s personal response to the dissemination of information. Highly classified documents.
