Trump’s pick for new CIA chief dogged by secret prisons
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Gina Haspel, the veteran CIA undercover officer US President Donald Trump picked on Tuesday to head the agency, is supported by many in the US intelligence community, but has faced criticism for overseeing a secret CIA prison in Thailand where detainees were tortured.
Intelligence officers who served with her, and congressional officials said that in 2002, during Republican president George W. Bush’s administration, she was responsible for the secret prison code-named “Cat’s Eye.”
Two suspected members of the alQaeda militant group were subjected to waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques at the facility.
Three years later, still during Bush’s presidency, she carried out an order to destroy videotapes of the waterboarding, which simulates drowning and is considered a form of torture, according to those people.
Haspel is generally held in high regard at the CIA, working as deputy director under Mike Pompeo, whom Trump nominated to be the next secretary of state on Tuesday after firing Rex Tillerson from the post.
If confirmed by the Senate, Haspel would become the first woman to lead the Central Intelligence Agency. But she could face close scrutiny in her confirmation hearings over her involvement in “black site” facilities, so called because their existence is unacknowledged by the US government.
Her nomination faces an uncertain fate in the Senate, which Trump’s fellow Republicans control 51-49. She could be opposed by all the Democrats, and some Republicans may also oppose her, including Senator Rand Paul, who has called a news conference this week to discuss the nomination.
“The torture of detainees in US custody during the last decade was one of the darkest chapters in American history,” said Republican Senator John McCain, who was himself tortured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
“Ms. Haspel needs to explain the nature and extent of her involvement in the CIA’s interrogation program during the confirmation process.”
In 2009, days after taking office, Democratic president Barack Obama banned “enhanced interrogation techniques,” including waterboarding, and ordered the closure of the secret detention sites.
Trump defended the torture of detainees during the 2016 presidential race, saying it “works.” He has not taken any action to reverse Obama’s policy, but Haspel’s nomination will fan concerns.
“This is going to reopen wounds from a decade and more ago, and also invite more oversight of both our analyses and our activities, especially if Gina is confirmed,” said one US official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
On Tuesday, some US intelligence officials said reports of her alleged involvement in interrogations involving torture were false. But they did not immediately provide details.
They did not dispute her involvement in drafting orders to destroy videotapes of harsh interrogation techniques, which was reported in the book “Hard Measures,” by Jose Rodriguez, her boss in the agency at the time, and former CIA spokesman Bill Harlow.