Appreciate it Anderson, I hope you had a good weekend. I'm Chris Cuomo, welcome to Primetime first.

Happy New Year to my Jewish brothers and sisters, Shana Tova.

Sadly, there is no similar fresh start to celebrate in Afghanistan. We don't even know how many

Americans and allies are being kept from leaving. Now that's the phrase we're going to focus on.

We're going to focus on the first time we've been in Afghanistan, kept from leaving, some by the Taliban as expected.

And in the latest development, here's our troubling question. Is our government actually hindering the effort to get Americans out of Afghanistan?

Tonight, as we promised you, we will continue our coverage, including the saga of the translator we call Sarah, who is still trying to get home.

We have an update from her that you're going to want to see. Now as to the political side of this, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee alleges the Taliban,

now isn't letting some Americans and Afghan allies leave who were stuck at Mazar-I Sharif Airport in Afghanistan.

McCall used the phrase hostage situation, but our Secretary of State rebutted it earlier.

Would you say we'll identify a relatively small number of Americans who we believe are seeking to depart from Mazar-I Sharif with their families?

We have been assured again that all American citizens and Afghan citizens with valid travel documents will be allowed to leave.

We are not aware of anyone being held on an aircraft or any hostage-like situation in Mazar-I Sharif.

Mazar-I Sharif, that's where they are, the question is how many and for how long. Now, here's the problem with what we just heard from the Secretary of State.

It all makes sense except for the level acceptance of the source, not blinking, but the Taliban.

What does valid travel documents mean to them? Now he says America has been assured by the Taliban that citizens and allies can get out, but I don't get how they can be so quick to accept that when they're hearing differently from the ground.

And remember, these are the guys that they say they just trust.

You know what that person is running from? The Taliban, acting like barbarians, firing on crowds of protesters, large numbers of women, in Kabul.

That's who we're going to rely on. You're just going to take their word. The same Taliban who allegedly just murdered a pregnant police woman in front of her family.

Now, it's not just a Republican hate parade. On the Democrat side, one of the senators on the Armed Services Committee is calling out the State Department. Richard Blumenthal, you don't get more Democrat than him, okay?

And he says his staff has, quote, worked night and day to secure the safe passage of two planes waiting in Mazar-I Sharif.

I've been deeply frustrated, even furious at our government's delay and inaction.

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