Republicans have accused President Joe Biden and his administration of releasing a report on the Afghanistan pullout in 2021 on the Friday before the July 4th holiday in order to bury it.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) pointed out that the report was completed in March 2022, and that he had called in April for the declassification and release of the report.

He said,

On April 25, I called upon the State Department to declassify its After-Action Review on Afghanistan within 60 days. The department failed to fulfill that request, instead choosing to release only a small portion of that document – 24 of 87 pages that were already unclassified – and completely omitted the narrative which forms the bulk of the report. There is no reason not to produce a declassified version of the full report, as much of it is marked ‘Sensitive but Unclassified’ or ‘Unclassified.’ This is another blatant attempt to hide the Biden administration’s culpability in the chaotic and deadly evacuation from Afghanistan.

"Typical DC swamp tactic"

McCaul is not the only Republican who spoke out against the administration.

House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee Chairman Mike Waltz tweeted, “Shameful the Biden Administration would release a damning report on Afghanistan the Friday afternoon of a holiday weekend. Typical DC swamp tactic.”

“Like other Afghanistan-related documents, much of this report remains unnecessarily classified to avoid future embarrassment, transparency, and accountability," Waltz, who is a Green Beret Army National Guard colonel who served in Afghanistan, added.

Like other Afghanistan-related documents, much of this report remains unnecessarily classified to avoid future embarrassment, transparency, and accountability.

— Rep. Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) July 1, 2023

Reporters (surprisingly) pounce

Reporters pressed White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about the report on Friday when it was released, but as usual, she sidestepped their questions.

“What message does it send to release this long-anticipated report on a Friday on a heavy news day ahead of a holiday weekend?” a reporter asked.

“That is a State Department decision, so I would have to refer you to them,” she said.

She was also asked whether she agreed with the report, and she again dodged the question. “I will just let it speak for itself. I’m just not going to comment further.”

The report

The report stated that Biden and former President Donald Trump were both to blame for the disastrous pullout.

There was confusion about who was in charge and a lack of planning to make it successful.

Waltz did not agree with the report's characterization that the Trump was at fault for the pullout's problems.

“The blame for the State Department’s failure to prepare for an evacuation lies solely with the Biden Administration and their bullshit deadline of September 11, 2021, rather than adjusting to conditions on the ground,” he tweeted.

“We will keep investigating and demand accountability,” he said.