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Mullin's Whereabouts Overseas Unknown After Threatening U.S. Ambassador To Tajikistan: Report

Chris Polansky
/
KWGS News
Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), right, with Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) at an event in Tulsa on April 23, 2021.

Oklahoma Republican Rep. Markwayne Mullin's whereabouts were unknown Tuesday evening after reportedly threatening embassy staff in Tajikistan while attempting to reach Afghanistan, according to theWashington Post.

The paper reported that Mullin told embassy staff he wanted to transport a "huge amount of cash" from the former Soviet republic of Georgia into Tajikistan in order to evacuate an American family via helicopter, but his request for assistance from the embassy was denied.

The Post reports Mullin also traveled to Greece last week in an attempt to reach the Afghan capital of Kabul, with the Pentagon denying that request, too.

"To say this is extremely dangerous is a massive understatement," the Post quotes an anonymous State Department official as saying about Mullin's purported activities.

In a statement released after the Post story published, Mullin spokesperson Meredith Blanford did not provide any insight into his whereabouts or whether or not the story was accurate, noting only that Mullin was safe.

Mullin has no known background in military service, having been a businessman and mixed martial arts fighter before his time in Congress.

In a July interview with C-SPAN about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Mullin said multiple times he had been in situations "overseas" that were similar to the pro-Trump insurrection. When asked to elaborate, he said he would not.

Mullin has been highly critical of President Joe Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan, during which 13 service members were killed.

"Americans have been stranded in Afghanistan by the Biden Administration and are now left to defend themselves from terrorists overrunning the country. One motto of our military is ‘leave no man behind.’ But today, that’s exactly what President Biden did," Mullin wrote on Facebook Monday.

Chris joined Public Radio Tulsa as a news anchor and reporter in April 2020. He’s a graduate of Hunter College and the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, both at the City University of New York.
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