When Gina Haspel testifies at her Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, she will reportedly assure senators that she will not restart the CIA’s interrogation program if she is confirmed as director.
The news comes from excerpts of Haspel’s prepared remarks obtained and reported by The Washington Post.
Haspel, who has served in the CIA for 33 years, has come under fire for her role in the agency’s use of so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques” to question terror suspects in the years after the 9/11 attacks. President Trump’s pick for CIA director oversaw a Thailand black site detention facility in 2002 where such methods, including waterboarding, reportedly took place.
The Post reported that Haspel’s prepared remarks will make clear her “personal commitment, clearly and without reservation” to not restart the controversial program.
Further, Haspel will assure senators the agency will cooperate with Congressional oversight. “If we can’t share aspects of our secret work with the public, we should do so with their elected representatives,” the remarks say, according to the Post.