CIA nominee Gina Haspel criticizes "enhanced interrogation" in letter to Mark Warner
Gina Haspel, President Trump's pick to run the CIA, denounced the CIA's "enhanced interrogation methods" more strongly than she did during her confirmation hearing, in a letter to Democratic Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner. The letter comes as Warner has yet to announce whether he will back Haspel.
Two Democrats in Republican-leaning states have already backed Haspel, whose involvement at the CIA while it employed such enhanced methods has been a sticking point in her confirmation process. In the letter first reported by CNN and obtained by CBS News, Haspel told Warner the program, "did damage to our officers and our standing" and, "is not one the CIA should have undertaken."
"Over the last 17 years, the agency and I have learned the hard lessons since 9/11," Haspel wrote. "While I won't condemn those that made these hard calls, and I have noted the valuable intelligence collected, the program ultimately did damage to our officers and our standing in the world. With the benefit of hindsight and my experience as a senior agency leader, the enhanced interrogation program is not one the CIA should have undertaken. The United States must be an example to the rest of the world, and I support that."
Warner, whose home state of Virginia houses the CIA's headquarters, has an important constituency to consider, and has been complimentary of Haspel in the past.
- John McCain opposes CIA nominee Gina Haspel
- Joe Donnelly backs Gina Haspel's nomination, making her confirmation more likely
A committee vote on Haspel is scheduled for Wednesday morning.
Read Haspel's letter to Warner here:
— CBS News' Kathryn Watson contributed to this report