GOP Rep. Reportedly ‘Threatened’ U.S. Embassy in Tajikistan on Call Asking for Assistance to Get Into Afghanistan
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 15: Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) speaks during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on April 15, 2021 in Washington, D.C. The hearing follows the release of an unclassified report by the intelligence community detailing the U.S. and its allies will face “a diverse array of threats” in the coming year, with aggression by Russia, China and Iran. (Photo by Al Drago-Pool/Getty Images)
A stunning new report Tuesday night said that a Republican congressman threatened the U.S. embassy in Tajikistan as he was trying to get into Afghanistan with cash to rescue five Americans still stuck there.
Congressman Markwayne Mullin (R- OK) criticized President Joe Biden on Monday for leaving Americans behind in Afghanistan, saying, “Americans have been stranded in Afghanistan by the Biden Administration and are now left to defend themselves from terrorists overrunning the country.”
One motto of our military is ‘leave no man behind.’ But today, that’s exactly what President Biden did.
— Markwayne Mullin (@RepMullin) August 30, 2021
According to the Washington Post, Mullan apparently decided that day to try and get Americans out himself.
The report says he asked the U.S. ambassador in Tajikistan, John Mark Pommersheim, for help “n transporting a huge amount of cash into the country” in an effort to rescue an American citizen and her four kids.
Mullin told the embassy that he planned to fly from Tblisi, Georgia, into Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe, in the next few hours and needed the top diplomat’s help, according to the two U.S. officials familiar with the incident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose private conversations about a sensitive matter.
The answer was no. Embassy officials told Mullin they could not assist him in skirting Tajikistan’s laws on cash limits on his way to visiting one of the most dangerous places on earth.
Mullin apparently responded by “threatening” embassy staff.
The Post report says as of now U.S. officials are “unsure of Mullin’s location.”
Last week, the Oklahoma Republican tried to get permission to visit Kabul but that was reportedly rejected. Last week two members of Congress made a surprise trip to Kabul as evacuations continued. U.S. officials were reportedly furious over it.
