Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on Thursday morning called on the CIA to release documents related to CIA director nominee Gina Haspel’s involvement in the agency’s torture program.
“As we move forward with the nomination process for Ms. Haspel, my fellow Senators and I must have the complete picture of Ms. Haspel’s involvement in the program in order to fully and fairly review her record and qualifications. I also believe the American people deserve to know the actual role the person nominated to be the director of the CIA played in what I consider to be one of the darkest chapters in American history,” Feinstein wrote in a letter to CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
Gina Haspel was involved in one of the darkest chapters in American history. Senators who will vote on her nomination MUST know the exact role she played in the CIA’s torture program. pic.twitter.com/NhlT9Zrucp
— Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) March 15, 2018
Haspel played a large role in the CIA’s secret torture program. She oversaw the torture of two terror suspects in a secret prison in Thailand in 2002 and helped destroy video of the interrogations.
Feinstein played a key role in publicizing the CIA’s torture practices following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in 2014 when she served as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The committee’s torture report outlined the gruesome tactics the CIA used to interrogate terror suspects and concluded that the tactics were not effective in gaining information.
Feinstein blocked Haspel’s promotion to lead the CIA’s clandestine operations in 2013 over her involvement in the torture program.
When Haspel was first nominated to lead the CIA earlier this week, Feinstein praised Haspel’s work as deputy director but said she had not yet decided whether she would support Haspel’s confirmation.
