US abandoned its own government-sponsored journalists and their families in Afghanistan during the Kabul chaos - despite State Department promises they would get them out

The White House on Wednesday dodged a question Wednesday about whether it left 100 Afghan journalists who had worked for U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Liberty in stranded amid the chaotic Kabul evacuation efforts. 

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki fielded a question about the journalists who were 'left behind,' after failing to make it through security despite several efforts to make it out of the country before the U.S. troop deadline.

The Washington Post reported the U.S. left behind 'more than 100 government-sponsored journalists, plus their families,' despite State Department promises to assist them and repeat attempts to get them to the airport. 

They were 'repeatedly turned away by our own troops at the airport gates,' according to the report. Despite being well plugged in with the government, the journalists never made it into the airport, despite a series of unsuccessful attempts.

The U.S. left behind Afghan journalists who worked for Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty after multiple failed efforts to get them evacuated

Asked about the situation, Psaki instead spoke about the overall evacuation, confirming details of a CNN account that appeared Tuesday describing 'muster points' and various efforts to get Americans and Afghans to the airport. 

'I think it's important to remember, again, 120,000 people made it out of the airport and the country, and our commitment to people who want to evacuate, once we leave: American citizens, journalists, Afghan partners who have stood by our side, is enduring and remains,' she said. 

Without speaking to the fate of the journalists, she then spoke about 'some of the ways that we worked to get American citizens out,' including the 'muster points.' She said State officials would 'blast notifications through a variety of channels' to people who would then travel by bus into the airport in convoys or travel on foot. 

'I think it's important to remember, again, 120,000 people made it out of the airport and the country,' said White House press secretary Jen Psaki when asked about the Afghan journalists

'It is absolutely disgraceful,' said Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas)

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) called the situation 'disheartening'

'You would have expected that the United States government, which helped create the space for journalism and civil society in Afghanistan over the last 20 years, would have tried to do more,' said Said Radio Free Europe / Radio Free Liberty President Jamie Fly

Afghans crowd at the tarmac of the Kabul airport on August 16, 2021, to flee the country as the Taliban were in control of Afghanistan after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country

She said there were 'multiple opportunities for each of these muster points at various times. 'We also talked people through one-on-one walking to the airport,' she said. She called it 'incredibly labor intensive.'

She said in 'limited cases' where people were 'trapped or in immediate danger' US security forces 'went beyond the wire, sometimes in a helicopter, to pick people up safely.' She said they were 'dangerous missions.'

She also pushed back when asked whether Biden was pushing a 'false narrative' in a call with former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. A leaked transcript of the July call had Biden urging the Afghan leader to 'change the perception' of the war with the Taliban.

Psaki said she was 'not going to get into details of a private conversation.' She did not otherwise speak to the fate of the journalists.

'It is absolutely disgraceful the U.S. State Department claimed they evacuated their local employees when in reality they abandoned hundreds of US Agency for Global journalists and their families,' Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the to Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote Tuesday. 

The group includes Voice of America and Radio Azadi, the Afghan branch of the broadcast service.

The group includes journalists for Radio Azadi, the Afghan branch of the broadcast service

'It is disheartening that so many professional journalists employed by American-funded news organizations have now been left behind, with their families,' Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) told the Post. 'These Afghan allies are among the people most endangered at the present moment for the good work they have done over two decades. Urgent attention must now turn to finding the best way to get them to safety.' 

Said Radio Free Europe / Radio Free Liberty President Jamie Fly: 'You would have expected that the United States government, which helped create the space for journalism and civil society in Afghanistan over the last 20 years, would have tried to do more over the last several weeks to assist journalists who made a decision that it was best for them to leave the country. But they consistently failed to do that.'

State Department Spokesman Ned Price, asked about the situation at a briefing Wednesday, responded: '

'We will continue to do everything we can. We're not talking about this in the past tense, because our efforts have not ended our efforts will endure, we have made a commitment to those who have served the US government.'