(FiveNation.com)- Senator Ted Cruz says that a Biden nominee for the State Department’s assistant secretary for Near Eastern affairs, Barbara Leaf, lied to Congress when asked about the new Iran nuclear agreement details.
Cruz maintains that Leaf played a vital role in the Biden administration and hid the particulars of their new Iran deal from SFRC (Senate Foreign Relations Committee) until it was too late to “shape it.”
Not thrilled with their negotiations, Cruz said the Biden administration had been working on a “less for less” deal since the very beginning of the presidency.
In response, Cruz is forcing the recorded vote on Leaf’s nomination, which clearly illustrates the growing irritation the Republicans have with the Biden administration’s attempts to keep them out of negotiations.
Cruz, fed up with Leaf due to her stonewalling on questions related to the Middle East policy, including the Iran deal, will ask for an up or down vote on Leaf as soon as possible.
Leaf claimed in September that Biden was not seeking a deal with Iran that is separate from the original 2015 accord.
Known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Leak claimed there were no changes to the current deal. There was no, potentially, weaker new deal that would reduce pressure on Iran.
Cruz said Leaf’s testimony to Congress was meant to keep lawmakers on the SFRC in the dark.
Leaf’s obfuscation will make it hard for Republican members of the SFRC to vote to confirm her nomination, particularly if the new Iran agreement will not only provide sanction relief to Iran but also to Russia.
The Biden administration doesn’t seem concerned if Tehran beefs up its nuclear program.
An aide close to Cruz said that the senator said, “Leaf flat out lied because the Biden administration was desperate to avoid congressional oversight. It’s being set up as a vote about whether senators are going to allow themselves to get pushed around.”
Also, in recent weeks, previously undisclosed details of the new deal showed that the Biden administration, disturbingly, is ready to lift terrorism sanctions even as Iran actively plots to murder former Trump administration officials.
The Biden doctrine seems to be “America Last.”
