Senators to press Gina Haspel about her role in CIA torture

Erin Kelly | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Haspel gets grilled about destroyed torture tapes CIA director nominee Gina Haspel is interrogated about the destruction of videotapes documenting torture saying she was 'absolutely an advocate.'

WASHINGTON – Gina Haspel, President Trump's nominee to head the CIA, will face tough questions from senators Wednesday about her role in an agency interrogation program that was outlawed as torture.

The focus of the Senate Intelligence Committee's confirmation hearing will be on Haspel's oversight in 2002 of a secret "black site" in Thailand where suspected terrorists were subjected to waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques.

Haspel, a career CIA agent with more than 30 years at the agency, will have to answer questions about her involvement in the destruction of 92 CIA videotapes that showed prisoners being waterboarded — a technique that simulates drowning.

The 61-year-old Kentucky native is likely to promise that, if confirmed, she will oppose any efforts to revive the torture techniques used during the George W. Bush administration after the 9/11 terrorist attacks against America.

Why Gina Haspel is a controversial CIA pick Gina Haspel is a career CIA official and would be the first woman to head the agency. But her involvement in operating CIA “black sites” during the Bush administration is controversial.

That may be enough to advance her nomination out of the committee, but it's not clear if it will win over a majority of senators when her confirmation moves to a vote of the full Senate.

Republicans hold a slim 51-49 majority, and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said he will oppose Haspel because of her role in the torture. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is undergoing treatment for brain cancer and may not be available to vote. McCain was a prisoner of war who was tortured by the Viet Cong, and he questioned Haspel's involvement in torture. No Democrats have come out in favor of Haspel.

Gina Haspel: CIA won't act immorally, even for President Donald Trump CIA director nominee Gina Haspel says she wouldn't allow the agency to undertake "immoral" activities, even at the request of President Donald Trump.

President Obama banned torture in 2009, and Congress passed that prohibition into law in 2015. President Trump told ABC News in January 2017 that he "absolutely" believes that torture "works" and would consider using it again if the CIA director and Defense secretary wanted to do so.

If confirmed, Haspel would be the first woman to lead the spy agency. She would replace Mike Pompeo, who was confirmed by the Senate as the new secretary of State. Haspel was named acting CIA director April 26 after serving as the CIA's deputy director for about 14 months.

Democrats on the Intelligence Committee complained that the CIA is "covering up" Haspel's record by refusing to release information.

'Bloody Gina' outburst interrupts Haspel hearing A woman was ejected from Gina Haspel's Senate confirmation hearing after screaming "bloody Gina" at President Donald Trump's pick for CIA director.

"It’s completely unacceptable for the CIA to declassify only material that’s favorable to Gina Haspel, while at the same time stonewalling our efforts to declassify all documents related to her involvement in the torture program," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. "Senators and the public need to know more about her record."

Last month, the CIA released a memo from 2011 showing that Deputy Director Michael Morell cleared Haspel of any wrongdoing in the destruction in 2005 of videotapes that showed prisoner Abu Zubaydah and another detainee being tortured.

Zubaydah, a Saudi citizen, was waterboarded 83 times, suspended from hooks in the ceiling and forced into a coffin for hours at a time, according to a report in 2014 by the Intelligence Committee on the CIA's use of torture.

After initially accusing Zubaydah of being a top-level al-Qaeda terrorist, U.S. officials acknowledged that he wasn't a leader but could still be dangerous. He remains in the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Morell's memo stemmed from a disciplinary review of Haspel's role in the videotapes' destruction. Morell wrote that he "found no fault with the performance of Ms. Haspel," even though she drafted an order to destroy the tapes. Morell said Haspel acted "on the direct orders" of her boss, Jose Rodriguez, who was chief of the CIA's clandestine service.

"It was not her decision to destroy the tapes," Morell wrote in the declassified memo. He said Haspel "acted appropriately."

More than 50 former national security officials — from Democratic and Republican administrations — endorsed Gina Haspel in a letter sent to the Intelligence Committee in early April. They included former CIA directors John Brennan, Leon Panetta, George Tenet and Michael Hayden. James Clapper, Obama's director of national intelligence and an outspoken critic of Trump, also signed the letter.

"Given the nature of CIA’s mission, most of her achievements cannot be shared publicly," her supporters wrote. "But we can tell you she has made vital contributions to the strength and security of our country and has dedicated her life to serving her fellow Americans."

Haspel has the support of committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., who said, "She has the right skill set, experience and judgment to lead one of our nation’s most critical agencies."

Haspel's opponents include more than 100 retired admirals and generals, who said the use of torture by the CIA encourages foreign governments to torture Americans.

"The torture and cruel treatment of prisoners undermines our national security by increasing the risks to our troops, hindering cooperation with allies, alienating populations whose support the United States needs in the struggle against terrorism, and providing a propaganda tool for extremists who wish to do us harm," the generals and admirals wrote in a letter to senators April 23.

"It would send a terrible signal to confirm as the next Director of the CIA someone who was so intimately involved in this dark chapter of our nation’s history," they wrote.

The CIA said Haspel's career, which began in January 1985, was secret until she was named deputy director last year. On May 1, the agency released a declassified timeline of her 20 different assignments.

Haspel's most recent assignments include: chief of station in the Europe Division, 2014-2017; deputy director of the National Clandestine Service, 2012-2014; and deputy director of the National Clandestine Service for Foreign Intelligence and Covert Action, in 2012. From 2011-2012, Haspel served as chief of station in a "classified location."

The timeline does not include what the CIA described as "more than 30 short-term, temporary duty assignments" over the course of Haspel's career.

"Through the confirmation process, the American public will get to know her for the first time," CIA spokesman Ryan Tranpani said. "When they do, we are confident America will be proud to have (Haspel) as the next CIA director."

The Intelligence Committee's damning report in 2014 of the CIA's torture program concluded that the interrogation of detainees was far more brutal than the CIA disclosed and that top officials misled Congress, the Bush administration and the public about what they were doing.

The report said torture techniques — including waterboarding, sleep deprivation and chaining prisoners in painful positions in cold, dark dungeons — did little to elicit valuable information or save American lives. Instead, it encouraged prisoners to lie, the report said.



