CIA nominee Gina Haspel approved by Senate panel despite links to torture, paving way for confirmation
Haspel has not disclosed any details of what she did in connection with the interrogation programme or say whether she thought it had been immoral
Gina Haspel, US President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the CIA, won the backing of the Senate intelligence committee on Wednesday, paving the way for her expected confirmation to lead the spy agency.
The panel voted 10-5 to advise the full Senate to confirm Haspel, whose nomination has renewed debate over the harsh interrogation programme the CIA conducted on terror suspects after 9/11. She has told Congress that the agency shouldn’t have used those harsh tactics and has vowed not to restart them.
The committee released the result of the vote that was conducted in closed session without giving further details. However, all eight Republicans and two of the seven Democrats on the panel earlier expressed support for Haspel. The remaining five Democrats had announced their opposition.
The confirmation vote by the full Senate could occur before the end of the week.
The interrogation programme became one of the darkest chapters of the CIA’s history and tainted America’s image worldwide after the September 11 attacks. Critics opposed Haspel’s nomination in part because of her role supervising a secret CIA detention site in Thailand for several months in 2002.
Haspel has not disclosed any details of what she did in connection with the interrogation programme or say whether she thought it had been immoral.
The enhanced interrogation programme is not one the CIA should have undertaken
