Dem
51
GOP
49
Rob Malley is the U.S. special envoy on Iran, at least for now. However, he has been suspended without pay and his security clearance has been temporarily revoked, pending an investigation. At question is Malley's alleged mishandling of classified materials. During the suspension, Abram Paley is serving as acting Special Envoy for Iran.
There is virtually nothing else known about the case, including whether Malley is facing any sort of criminal liability. Malley claims to be in the dark about what he might have done wrong, and says that he is confident he will be exonerated. Of course, if you don't know what rule(s) you broke, it's rather hard for you to say for certain you didn't break those rules.
Time will tell how this process plays out, but it certainly appears to be evidence that the system is working. That is to say, Malley did... something, and that something was brought to the attention of the State Department. State shut down Malley's access, to make sure no further damage would be done, and launched an investigation. It will either prove to be much ado about nothing, or it will be found that Malley blew it and he can't have his clearance or his job back. He might even suffer some sort of civil or criminal penalty.
That said, there is zero chance that the enablers of Donald Trump do not glom onto this. If Malley is cleared, the line will be: "See? Two-tiered system of justice." If Malley gets popped, it will be: "See? Everyone does it." Making things even easier for the Trump apologists is that Malley's alleged misbehavior not only involves classified documents, it involves classified documents about Iran—i.e., the subject of the now-infamous conversation recorded at Bedminster.
Of course, if Malley is indicted, tried, convicted, and imprisoned, Trump's apologists will have a harder time claiming: "When other people did what Trump is accused of doing, nothing happened to them."
In any event, everyone is going to be keeping an eye on the outcome here. Meanwhile, consider how things might have unfolded if Donald Trump was in the White House. Would there be an investigation? If so, would we know about it? Doubtful on both counts. (Z)