Six months before American-born Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki was killed by an American drone strike in Yemen, he was invited to the US Embassy in Sana’a – in order for the embassy to revoke his passport — according to newly released State Department documents.
The documents, obtained by Judicial Watch and reviewed by Fox News, show that the embassy was instructed to send a message to al-Awlaki requesting that he pick up an “important letter” in person at the embassy in March 2011.
This letter, which embassy employees were instructed not disclose to al-Awlaki before his appearance at the embassy, was the revocation of al-Awlaki’s passport, based on a determination by the State Department that his “activities abroad are causing and/or likely to cause serious damage to the national security or the foreign policy of the United States.”
There’s no evidence available that he ever collected the letter.
A former Diplomatic Security agent who worked for the State Department in the Middle East told Fox News the revocation of the passport was “highly unusual.” The agent, who asked to remain unnamed, added, “there may be a legal finding by the Justice Department that allowed State Department officials to take this extraordinary step.”
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