The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:50 PM
Sanders Says Those Who Oppose CIA Nominee Gina Haspel 'Total Hypocrite'
“There is no one more qualified to be the first woman to lead the CIA
than 30+ year CIA veteran Gina Haspel,” Sanders tweeted. “Any Democrat
who claims to support women’s empowerment and our national security but
opposes her nomination is a total hypocrite.”
Sarah Sanders
✔
@PressSec
There is no one more qualified to be the first woman to lead the CIA
than 30+ year CIA veteran Gina Haspel. Any Democrat who claims to
support women’s empowerment and our national security but opposes her
nomination is a total hypocrite
Beginning Wednesday, Haspel faces a contentious confirmation hearing
before the Senate Intelligence Committee, ahead of what the White House
acknowledges will likely be a close confirmation vote on the Senate
floor.
Debate over Haspel's nomination is split between those who praise her
experience and those who want her disqualified because of her role in
the CIA’s harsh interrogation of terror subjects and destruction of
videotapes showing waterboarding after 9/11.
If Haspel's nomination advances to the
Senate, she would need backing from at least 50 senators. In the event
of a tie, Vice President Mike Pence -- in his role as president of the
Senate -- would cast the deciding vote.
With the likely absence of U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who is
battling brain cancer and recuperating in Arizona after recent surgery,
Republicans hold a 50-49 advantage in the Senate.
McCain, 81, who was tortured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, was
instrumental in getting Congress to prohibit harsh interrogation
techniques, including those used on terror suspects after 9/11, and has
said that any CIA nominee must pledge to uphold the ban.
Meanwhile, Sanders' Saturday tweet drew some criticism, including from
U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., who objected to Sanders' linking of the
Haspel vote to women’s empowerment or national security.
Ted Lieu
✔
@tedlieu
Dear @PressSec: Perhaps I missed it, but I don't see being complicit in
torture as part of the agenda for either women's empowerment or our
national security. https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/992861267005231104
…
“Dear @PressSec: Perhaps I missed it, but I don’t see being complicit in
torture as part of the agenda for either women’s empowerment or our
national security.”
Walter Shaub, a former director of the U.S. Government Office of Ethics,
tweeted a middle-ground response.
Sarah Sanders
✔
@PressSec
18h
There is no one more qualified to be the first woman to lead the CIA
than 30+ year CIA veteran Gina Haspel. Any Democrat who claims to
support women’s empowerment and our national security but opposes her
nomination is a total hypocrite
Walter Shaub
✔
@waltshaub
Seems to me that people can legitimately object to her role in torture
while also encouraging this administration to increase the diversity of
its appointees.
“@PressSec @morgfair Seems to me that people can legitimately object to
her role in torture while also encouraging this administration to
increase the diversity of its appointees,” Shaub tweeted.
Haspel, 61, is the first woman nominated for the CIA director position.
If confirmed, she would replace former CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who was
recently confirmed as U.S. Secretary of State.
Haspel, who joined the CIA in 1985, is currently the intelligence
agency’s acting director.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.