A Perplexing Update in the Malley Spy Scandal

Why does Iranian media keep breaking stories about the fall of Rob Malley, the Obama-Biden Iran guru, that U.S. media outlets miss?

In recent weeks, this newsletter has published four detailed reports on the rising scandal surrounding the career meltdown of Rob Malley, the Iran point man for the last two Democratic administrations. First, Top Secret Umbra explained how Malley’s long government career became unglued after his security clearances were suspended without public explanation. Next, we elaborated why this was a serious scandal, potentially involving espionage, thus making Malley appear uncomfortably like a mole for Tehran – in the heart of the White House.

Then, this newsletter exclusively discussed how the Intelligence Community came to suspect that Malley had egregiously mishandled classified information to Iran’s benefit. Most recently, we placed what we know about this shadowy scandal – the Biden administration has refused to tell Congress, much less the public, anything of substance about why Malley’s clearances were suspended and the FBI was called in to take over the counterintelligence investigation into his alleged misdeeds – in a historical context, reaching potentially alarming conclusions.

The State Department and the White House remain silent about what’s going on here, over four months after Malley had his access to state secrets suspended. For their part, the mainstream media remains shockingly uninterested in this entire affair. Although MSM outlets have reported Malley’s career meltdown, they haven’t exactly been chomping at the bit to get to the bottom of this murky saga. The story appears too hot to touch for elite Washington journalists, contrary to their oft-professed desire to “speak truth to power.” When it comes to the Obama-Biden administrations, power beats out truth every time regarding muckraking reportage on the Potomac.

Which brings us to perhaps the oddest aspect of this decidedly odd scandal. Contrary to the timidity of the Washington press corps in this affair, state-linked Iranian media has broken several detailed exclusives in the Malley scandal. In particular, Tehran Times, an English-language outlet that’s cozy with Iran’s foreign ministry, has reported extensively on this story in a manner that puts American journalists to shame.

Now, the Tehran Times has dropped another bombshell by publishing what purports to be the State Department internal memo, dated April 21 of this year, informing Malley that his security clearances were suspended pending a counterintelligence investigation. This memorandum, sent to Malley by Erin E. Smart, the director of the Office of Personnel Security and Suitability inside State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, informed the administration’s Iran special envoy that his Top Secret security clearance was suspended pending a full review of Malley’s eligibility to see state secrets.