Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on Tuesday responded to former CIA director Gen. Michael Hayden, who claimed that the Senate Intelligence Committee Chair’s investigation into the CIA’s enhanced interrogation program was “emotional” and not necessarily “objective.”
Feinstein said Hayden’s remarks were “nonsense” and “stereotypical,” according to The Hill. She said that Hayden’s reaction to her criticisms of the CIA was “an old male fallback position.”
“And there is no question that there are a lot of people out there — I suspect one of them is former CIA Director Hayden — that does not want that report to come out,” she said on MSNBC, as recorded by The Hill. “So one of the things you do is try to blur the reputation of someone connected to the report.”
Feinstein added that the Senate Intelligence Committee began its investigation before she was chair.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) on Monday blasted Hayden for his comments about Feinstein.
“For this man to say that because she criticizes tactics led by General Hayden, that was torture, she’s being too emotional. I don’t think so. Does this sound like a person or a party that respects women?” Reid said on the Senate floor.
The committee report concerning the Bush-Cheney administration found that interrogation techniques like waterboarding were not effective in gaining significant intelligence in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
