Three Republican Senators Call for Dismissal of Barack Obama's Advisor

Three Republican senators from the United States Senate have written a letter to the President, calling for the dismissal of Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor at the White House. This letter was released ahead of a special meeting of the House Oversight Committee. Ben Rhodes, one of Barack Obama's advisors, was invited to attend and explain himself at the committee meeting on Tuesday morning, but the White House announced on Monday that he would not testify. The letter from Senators Mark Kirk of Illinois, John Barrasso of Wyoming, and John Cornyn of Texas addressed to the President and their request for the dismissal of the Deputy National Security Advisor has fueled discussions among opponents and supporters of the Obama administration, while the special meeting of the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday morning, which was convened to hear explanations from Ben Rhodes, was also tumultuous. The three Republican senators stated in their letter that before the controversy surrounding Mr. Rhodes' statements tarnishes the image of the presidency, he must be removed from his advisory position. The senators referred to comments made by Ben Rhodes regarding how the nuclear agreement was presented and the timing of negotiations with Iran, and he has been accused of 'deception' following the release of these statements. According to the New York Times, the Obama administration, in order to convince the public and Congress of the nuclear deal with Iran, portrayed Hassan Rouhani's government as moderate and essentially lied to the people. The author of this article attributed the main role in this matter to Ben Rhodes. The letter from the three senators was published just hours after a letter from Neil Eggleston, the White House Counsel, to the chairman of the House Oversight Committee. In his letter, Mr. Eggleston told Jason Chaffetz, the Republican chairman of the committee, that the request for the President's advisor to attend the committee meeting raised significant concerns regarding the separation of powers. Mr. Chaffetz, at the beginning of the committee meeting on Tuesday, protested by saying, 'Ben Rhodes has a speaking engagement on this day but has refused to appear before our committee.' Elijah Cummings, a senior Democrat on the committee, also objected to the presence of John Hannah, a former senior advisor to Dick Cheney, the Vice President in George W. Bush's cabinet. Mr. Cummings, a Democratic representative from Maryland, also protested to the committee chairman that in inviting John Hannah, who has committed several wrongdoings in the past, he did not consult with any of the Democratic members of the committee. He also stated that 'the three members of the witness panel are handpicked Republicans, all of whom oppose the nuclear agreement with Iran.' Elijah Cummings described the accusations against the President's senior advisor as incomprehensible and rejected these claims. He said, 'Regarding the start and nature of the discussions with Iran, there are dozens of clear documents during the Obama administration's efforts to reach an agreement with Iran.' The comments from the senior Democrat in the oversight committee were met with objections from Republicans, which briefly disrupted the committee meeting. Steve Russell, a Republican representative from Oklahoma, stated that members of Congress have not had the opportunity to question Mr. Ben Rhodes. The discussions surrounding the statements made by the Deputy National Security Advisor in a recent interview with the New York Times have not only become a hot topic among American politicians and lawmakers but have also overshadowed news related to the U.S. presidential election campaigns over the past week.