WASHINGTON—Describing the international incident as a run-of-the-mill violation of human rights, CIA director Gina Haspel briefed senators Tuesday on the “shockingly uninspired” techniques employed by Saudi government agents during the interrogation of Jamal Khashoggi. “Unfortunately, all evidence indicates that Khashoggi was killed after only three or four hours of merciless beatings,” said Haspel in a damning summary of the Saudi death squad’s “relatively tame” treatment of the dissident journalist, adding that the group repeatedly missed out on opportunities for innovative torture. “The bone saw was a nice touch, I guess, but all of our findings suggest that he was already dead before they even started dismembering him. It’s shameful and outrageous how amateurish the Saudis’ techniques were—frankly, the biggest crime here is that these cowards relied on such pathetic methods. It was clearly a rush-job, an absolute travesty of an interrogation, and as such, I condemn it completely.” Haspel added that, had she been responsible for such a “hack” interrogation, she would be denying it as well.

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