A veteran U.S. diplomat has lost her security clearance and her State Department consultancy as the result of a counter-intelligence investigation still underway by the FBI, U.S officials confirmed to NBC News Thursday.
Veteran diplomat Robin Raphel — a Pakistan expert and former Assistant Secretary of State in Bill Clinton's administration — is being investigated, and the State Department says it is "cooperating" with law enforcement officials. She has not been charged with any crime.
Raphel has not responded to inquiries from the Washington Post, which first broke the story. She did not immediately return a request for comment from NBC News.
The Post reported that law enforcement officials searched Raphel's home on October 21st. Agents reportedly removed bags and boxes from the residence and her State Department office remains locked today. Her last position was as a senior advisor in the special office on Pakistan and Afghanistan — administering non-military aid.
Raphel is 67 years old and had previously worked for the late Richard Holbrooke. Her former husband, Ambassador Arnold Raphel, was killed on the plane that crashed with then-Pakistan Prime Minister Muhammad Zia — the result, investigators concluded, of an assassination plot in 1988.
Robin Raphel had already been divorced from her husband when he died in the crash. She was at the time working in the U.S. embassy in South Africa. She's also had postings in D.C., Britain, India and Pakistan. She began her career as an analyst for the CIA.
