When trying to connect a lot of dots, it’s easy to get lost in the dots and miss the bigger picture. That’s what happened to me last fall when the October 7th attack on Israel happened. Along with too many dots with a story I had been trying to understand – the suspension of Robert Malley earlier in 2023 – too many other events exploded. Listening to weird Biden administration responses to three American soldiers being killed in an Iranian proxy drone strike prodded my memory.
Something is very off with how the Biden administration still keeps trying to kowtow to Tehran and exhibiting weakness at every turn. They’re blabbing about not wanting to escalate tensions with Iran and doing meaningless, theatrical, “DON’T” warnings, while Iran has continually escalated tensions. The retaliatory strikes have been strategically pointless targets, because the Biden administration doesn’t really want to retaliate – they want to avoid upsetting Tehran.
I had saved some links about Malley, but I began trying to tune out the news information overload and never got back to this story. However, this story of the Biden administration’s top Iran/Mid-East guru being removed from his position and having his security clearance suspended, back in April 2023 is probably a very important story in light of the October 7th attack and the Biden administration’s embarrassingly weak response to increasing Iranian aggression.
Here’s a June 29, 2023 CNN report: Biden’s Iran envoy placed on leave after security clearance suspended amid investigation into possible mishandling of classified material, sources say This CNN report has this peculiar paragraph (paragraph 11):
“The move to suspend Malley’s security clearance was not communicated widely within the State Department or across the Biden administration, as the department kept him in his role and made no official announcements about replacing him. Some officials at the State Department were told that Malley was handing personal matters, which is why he had taken a back seat on the Iran portfolio, two State Department officials and a third person who was briefed told CNN.”
So, here’s what paragraph 2 said:
“A US official said that Malley’s clearance was suspended amid a State Department diplomatic security investigation into the possible mishandling of classified information. Another source familiar with the matter said he was placed on unpaid leave on Thursday afternoon.”
Why on earth did Blinken keep someone suspected of mishandling highly sensitive information working in the State Department and who lied to other State Department workers to keep it quiet? Well, Blinken and Malley are childhood friends and Malley is the Democratic Party Middle-East guru. Again, this is the CNN sentence: “Some officials at the State Department were told that Malley was handing personal matters, which is why he had taken a back seat on the Iran portfolio, two State Department officials and a third person who was briefed told CNN.” I’m wondering “were told” by whom???
I’m adding this paragraph, after publishing, because I realized I wasn’t clear about the allegations against Malley. Here’s a quote from an October 1, 2023, Lee Smith piece at Tablet Magazine, “The Biden administration’s now-suspended Iran envoy Robert Malley helped to fund, support, and direct an Iranian intelligence operation designed to influence the United States and allied governments, according to a trove of purloined Iranian government emails.” He was alleged to have mishandled highly classified information and of putting together a group of Iranian experts, who were working to sway US policy toward Iran’s objectives. It had to be some damning information for Blinken to first suspend his long-time friend/Democrats’ Iran policy guru’s security clearance in April and then when the State Department investigated, they referred it to the FBI and Malley was placed on unpaid leave in June.
Malley’s story is critically important to what’s going on with the Biden administration handling of policy with the Israel/Hamas war and with our American response to escalating attacks by Iranian proxies. Malley worked for the Clinton administration, trying to broker an Israeli/Palestinian peace deal and then for the Obama administration, becoming their architect of the Iran deal. Malley has close ties with Hamas leaders, his father was very close friends with Yasser Arafat and Malley continued those close ties. In 2008, when Obama was running for president, Malley was asked to step aside from his informal campaign role over concerns his close ties to Hamas could damage Obama. However, in 2014, Obama hired Malley to be senior director of the National Security Council and his chief Iran policy architect.
Never fear, Malley is still in the loop among the connected Democrats’ elite foreign policy crowd – he’s now a Senor Fellow at Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs and there are plenty of his cronies, who assuredly will try to relaunch him into the Democrat foreign policy club. Here’s a piece in The Nation, from October 19, 2023, Disinformation and Deception in Tehran and Washington, making the case that people are trying to sabotage Malley and other aides are having their work sabotaged. Well, it was the State Department who investigated Malley’s handling of highly classified information and referred the matter to the FBI and it was Malley’s close friend, Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, who removed him from his post – not reporters running a disinformation effort. Blinken suspended Malley’s security clearance in April – long before the reporters knew anything about it in June. Timelines matter.
Here are some links to other reports on this situation:
July 23, 2023 – Lee Smith article in Tablet Magazine : What happened to Robert Malley?
August 14, 2023 – Reuters report: Malley, on leave from US Iran envoy post, to teach at Princeton
September 29, 2023 – Jay Solomon piece in Semafor: Inside Iran’s influence operation
October 1, 2023 – Lee Smith article in Tablet Magazine: High-Level Iranian Spy Ring Busted in Washington
October 16, 2023 – Lee Smith article in Tablet Magazine: The Biden Administration Tries to Hide What It Knew About an Impending Massacre, While Leaving U.S. Backing for Iran Untouched
January 19, 2024 – Yale News: Controversial Jackson fellow Robert Malley to teach ‘Contending with Israel-Palestine’ seminar
I’ll leave it up to you to decide if Malley mishandled highly sensitive classified information or is a victim of “disinformation.” The Biden State Department decided the matter was serious enough to suspend his security clearance and refer it to the FBI. As for me, I think Malley’s so well-connected at the highest levels in Democrat circles – the Clintons, Obama, Kerry, etc. etc. etc. that the FBI will handle this like Hillary’s emails and Hunter’s laptop… another investigation to Nowhere.
I also believe the Biden White House and our other top national security agencies are thoroughly compromised.
The dots never end with the Obama crowd, that’s now the Biden crowd. Then there was this story in September 2023, connected with the Malley case: “Pentagon Defends Biden Appointee’s Alleged Membership in Iranian Influence Network. From the Washington Times: “Ms. Tabatabai is an Iranian-American scholar who now works as the chief of staff for Christopher P. Maier, the Pentagon’s assistant secretary of Defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict. She had previously worked for the State Department.”
Along with Malley’s saga, right after Oct. 7th there was a pro-Hamas Homeland Security official:
If you wonder why this administration often sounds like they’re more sympathetic to the terrorist regime in Tehran and Hamas terrorists, well, just look at who is writing their policies and narratives… Malley was the Obama Iranian expert in 2016, when John Kerry was Secretary of State. Kerry was working inside deals with Iran for the release of American sailors Iran had taken hostage. Kerry did a victory lap, bragging about his smart diplomacy leading to a peaceful release of the American hostages. Then Iran unleashed a humiliating propaganda attack in the international media of American sailors on their knees. Never forget who these people really are – Malley was the Obama Iranian policy guru, with all the Iranian connections back then too.
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