Gina Haspel is the first woman in the nation’s history to lead the CIA. Trump tweeted a “congratulations to all.”
‘Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service! Gina Haspel will become the new Director of the CIA, and the first woman so chosen. Congratulations to all!’
Haspel was the deputy director of the CIA, and she must go before the Senate for confirmation. Trump is crazy about her, and said she and Pompeo have “great mutual respect,” according to Newsweek:
‘(They) have worked together for more than a year, and have developed a great mutual respect.’
‘Some background on new CIA Director nominee Gina Haspel and her role overseeing the torture of 2 alleged terrorists at a black site in Thailand.’
The deputy director told The Washington Post:
‘After 30 years as an officer of the Central Intelligence Agency, it has been my honor to serve as its Deputy Director alongside Mike Pompeo for the past year. I am grateful to President Trump for the opportunity, and humbled by his confidence in me, to be nominated to be the next Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.’
‘It appears that the debate about torture in the President’s mind, if there ever was one, is over.’
The New York Times reported that Haspel held captives in secret prisons, and they were “tortured:”
‘Ms. Haspel, who has spent most of her career undercover, would certainly fall within Mr. Pompeo’s description. She played a direct role in the C.I.A.’s “extraordinary rendition program,” under which captured militants were handed to foreign governments and held at secret facilities, where they were tortured by agency personnel.’
Haspel apparently destroyed tapes of the torture, which was in direct opposition to court orders and the 9/11 commission demands, The Intercept wrote.
President Barack Obama shut down all black site programs, and that included Haspel’s secret prison.
Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, tweeted both Pompeo and Haspel had “a troubled history with torture:”
‘Both of Trump’s new nominees for Secretary of State (MIke Pompeo) and CIA director (Gina Haspel) have a troubled history with torture.’
Featured Image via Getty Images/Spencer Platt.