>>19680221
>Guess How the Biden Admin Responded to Senators Demanding Answers About Pentagon Official's Ties to Iran
>https://townhall.com/tipsheet/spencerbrown/2023/10/06/house-and-senate-lawmakers-demand-explanation-over-senior-officials-ties-to-iran-n2629433
What has been reported and is so far known about Tabatabai is, as the senators note, alarming. But there's still more that needs to be uncovered to understand exactly how this all came to pass.
To that end, the senators requested — with a deadline of Friday (October 6) — answers to the following queries:
1. On what date did the Department of Defense learn that Ms. Tabatabai had served as part of the Iranian government-linked Iran Experts Initiative?
2. On what date was Ms. Tabatabai granted a security clearance, and what was the sponsoring agency that made the determination to grant Ms. Tabatabai a security clearance?
3. Has Ms. Tabatabai’s security clearance been subjected to a periodic reinvestigation and, if so, on what date was Ms. Tabatabai’s most recent periodic reinvestigation completed?
4. Was Ms. Tabatabai subjected to any additional counterintelligence screening, to include a polygraph investigation, as part of her security clearance investigation or any subsequent review of her eligibility to hold a security clearance or access restricted or special access information?
5. On her Standard Form-86, did Ms. Tabatabai list her contacts with:
a. Former Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif;
b. Academic Adnan Tabatabai;
c. Mostafa Zahrani, the head of the Iran think tank IPIS; and/or
d. Former Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh?
6. Was Ms. Tabatabai read into any special access programs (SAPs)?
a. If so, was she subjected to enhanced security vetting, per SAP security policy, or was she granted a waiver?
b. If she was granted a waiver to be read into SAPs, which DoD official approved the waiver?
Already, the Biden Department of Defense has ignored inquiries from lawmakers in the House of Representatives, failing to respond to a letter raising similar concerns from the House Armed Services Committee.
The Department of Defense just blew past the October 3rd deadline.
We need answers on Ariane Tabatabai’s employment, her security clearance, and her relationship with the Iranian regime.
The Iranian regime’s unfettered access to the Biden administration is unacceptable. https://t.co/sAdH2JpCm4
— Armed Services GOP (@HASCRepublicans) October 4, 2023
So, will the DoD respond to the letter from dozens of U.S. senators? Or continue hiding information about Tabatabai's activities and knowledge inside the Pentagon?
Even if Tabatabai had zero access to sensitive information in the Pentagon — which is unlikely — the Biden administration's apparent attempts to withhold information or cover up the issue only adds to the appearance of wrongdoing. It's time for Secretary Austin and the DoD to show their cards so appropriate oversight and accountability can be carried out.