Democratic senators have vowed to question nominee Gina Haspel (AFP)
U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee to head the CIA will promise lawmakers on Wednesday she will never resume a program of harsh interrogations, often denounced as torture, that has been the major issue complicating her confirmation.
Democratic senators have vowed to question nominee Gina Haspel, currently the spy agency's acting director, about her role in the use of harsh interrogation methods during former President George W. Bush's administration, as well as the destruction of videotapes documenting the questioning.
"Having served in that tumultuous time, I can offer you my personal commitment, clearly and without reservation, that under my leadership CIA will not restart such a detention and interrogation program," Haspel said in excerpts of her testimony released ahead of the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.
Public questioning of Haspel on issues such as the effectiveness of the interrogations, CIA drone strikes and agency "renditions" of suspected militants to third countries may be limited because the operations remain classified.
Haspel needs 51 votes to be confirmed as the first woman director of the CIA in the 100-seat Senate, where Trump's fellow Republicans hold a 51-49 majority. The agency's former deputy director, she would succeed Mike Pompeo, a Republican former congressman confirmed last month as secretary of state.
Haspel already has the strong support of many Republicans. As he opened the hearing, the panel's Republican chairman, Richard Burr, praised Haspel.
"I believe your intellectual rigor, honorable service and outstanding judgment make you a natural fit to lead the CIA," he said, urging that the hearing not be made "a trial about a long-shuttered program."
But Haspel could face a difficult time being confirmed. At least one Republican, Senator Rand Paul, has said he opposes her, and others have said they will wait to see how she does at Wednesday's hearing.
No Democrat has yet expressed support for Haspel.
'Morally Questionable Behavior'
Senator Mark Warner, the committee's top Democrat, said his vote on Haspel's confirmation will largely depend on how she expresses her current views on the harsh techniques and a 2005 decision to destroy tapes of interrogations.
"We must hear how you would react if the president asks you to carry out some morally questionable behavior that might seem to violate a law or treaty," Warner said in his opening statement.
Warner also said he would want Haspel's commitment to cooperate in investigations into Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. election. Trump has called those investigations a "witch hunt."
Before the hearing, a small group of protesters started shouting, "Say no to torture." They were forcibly removed by the Capitol police.
Two sources familiar with preparations for the hearing said Haspel is regarded inside the CIA as a supporter of the so-called harsh interrogation techniques, and there is little if any record of her expressing objections or reservations about them. They said Haspel also agreed that harsh interrogation tactics produced valuable intelligence.
A 2014 Senate Intelligence Committee investigation concluded that these methods were "not an effective way of obtaining accurate information or gaining detainee cooperation."
An undercover officer for most of her more than 30-year career, Haspel in 2002 served as CIA station chief in Thailand, where the agency ran one of the secret prisons where suspected al Qaeda extremists were interrogated using procedures that included waterboarding, which simulates drowning.
In response to a complaint on Monday by Warner that it was selectively declassifying information about Haspel's 32-year CIA career to make her look good, the agency on Monday turned over personnel records detailing Haspel's service. The documents are classified.
Senator Ron Wyden, one of the committee Democrats most skeptical of Haspel's nomination, said the documents could, and should, be made public to answer questions about her record.
"The vast amount of her background can be declassified without compromising what are called sources and methods," Wyden told reporters.
Burr said there are no plans to make such documents public.
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