Donald Trump’s pick for CIA, Gina Haspel, wanted to pull out after concerns over her role in ‘torture’
Gina Haspel was reportedly involved in the interrogation – called torture by some – of terrorism suspects after the September 11 attacks
US President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the CIA, Gina Haspel, sought to withdraw over concerns about her role in the agency’s interrogation programme, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday.
Haspel’s offer to withdraw on Friday was prompted by growing concern among her supporters that White House staff were becoming nervous that the nomination was in trouble, the sources said.
Trump’s pick to lead CIA rules out return of torture ‘black sites’
Haspel was summoned to the White House on Friday for a meeting to discuss her history in the interrogation programme that employed techniques, including waterboarding, widely condemned as torture, The Washington Post reported, citing four unidentified senior US officials.
She told the White House she would step aside to avoid a brutal Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing on Wednesday that might damage the CIA, the officials told the Post. She then returned to agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia.
White House aides, including legislative affairs liaison Marc Short and spokeswoman Sarah Sanders, then rushed to Langley for discussions on Friday that lasted several hours but did not secure a commitment from her to stick with the nomination, the paper said.
Only on Saturday afternoon was the White House assured she would not withdraw, the Post quoted the officials as saying.
“Acting Director Haspel is a highly qualified nominee who has dedicated over three decades of service to her country,” White House spokesman Raj Shah said in response to a request for comment.