Will White House Aide Testify Over Iran Deal?
Congressman Jason Chaffetz, (R-Utah), chair of the House Oversight Committee, is calling for Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes to testify at a hearing about the controversial Iran nuclear deal.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, Rhodes admitted to misleading the press and the public with the diplomatic particulars leading up to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran deal.
Rep. Chaffetz said on FOX Business Network’s Varney & Co. that he has invited Rhodes, along with Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), to have a “rational discussion” with Congress.
“We are going to have a hearing regardless, but he [Rhodes] should show up. He hasn’t indicated that he is not going to show up and we should have this dialogue,” Chaffetz said.
Chaffetz, who opposes the Iran deal, says the misinformation used to sell it to the American public and the findings from the Times interview confirm Rhodes has misled the public.
“The president has entrusted him [Rhodes] in a very powerful position and this article I think clearly lays out that he used that podium and used that position and the bowels of the White House there to mislead the American people.”
The Iran deal is an international agreement that was reached in Vienna on July 14, 2015 between Iran and five members of the United Nations Security Council on the Middle Eastern country’s nuclear program.
Rhodes was asked to appear at a hearing on Tuesday, May 17 at 10 a.m.