Trump's CIA Pick Passes Crucial First Step

The Senate Intelligence Committee will vote behind closed doors Wednesday to advance Gina Haspel's nomination as President Donald Trump's CIA director pick. She looks all but assured to win Senate confirmation

With two of 51 Republicans committed to voting against Haspel, and five Democrats already indicating they will support her, it appears she is set to become the agency's first female director.

In a letter to Sen.

Haspel, a 33-year veteran of the agency, has been scrutinized for her role in its interrogation program, including her time supervising a secret facility in Thailand where an al-Qaeda suspect was waterboarded, according to the Post.

'Gina Haspel is the most qualified person the President could choose to lead the CIA and the most prepared nominee in the 70 year history of the Agency, ' Burr said Wednesday. And former Vice President Dick Cheney, who was integral to the post-Sept.

"I do not support use of enhanced interrogation techniques for any objective", Haspel wrote.

During her confirmation hearings, she refused to condemn the program, but did make a statement indicating that the agency should not have undertaken its interrogation program in which al Qaeda detainees were tortured after the September 11 attacks of 2001.

While at least three Republican senators, John McCain and Jeff Flake of Arizona, along with Rand Paul of Kentucky, have expressed opposition to her confirmation, three Democrats have said they will vote in her favor, including a key Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Mark Warner of Virginia.

The one person who might be able to stop the Senate from voting through President Trump's pick to lead the Central Intelligence Agency is stuck thousands of miles from the Capitol as a key committee prepares to vote on her nomination. Brennan is an outspoken critic of Trump but called Haspel "highly qualified" and urged senators to view her with an open mind. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., also said she would back Haspel, further bolstering her bid.

Tortured himself while a prisoner of war in Vietnam, McCain cited Haspel's role in the interrogation program, saying the country should only use methods to keep itself safe that are "as right and just as the values we aspire to live up to and promote in the world". Former CIA Director John Brennan contacted her, Warner, and Sens.

Manchin is facing a tough re-election challenge this year in a deep-red state, and can't afford to be painted as soft of terrorism.

Haspel testified at a Senate hearing that torture does not work as an interrogation technique and that, as director, her strong "moral compass" would ensure she did not carry out any administrative directive she found objectionable. As a candidate, Trump said he supports the use of waterboarding or worse tactics.

But for Warner, and for the Democrats who followed his lead to also announce their support for Haspel on Tuesday, it was enough. "With the benefit of hindsight and my experience as a senior agency leader, the enhanced interrogation program is not one the CIA should have undertaken".

Related News:

16 May 2018

East Coast rail services to be taken into public control
Stagecoach's chief executive Martin Griffiths estimated the company's total losses at £260m, in February. He added: "However, we respect the Government's decision".

16 May 2018

Everton sack Sam Allardyce as manager
Allardyce took over the reins on November 30 past year , six months after leaving a similarly short stint at Crystal Palace. He had originally signed a contract until June 2019, after Ronald Koeman was sacked in October 2017.

16 May 2018

Karnataka results show what will happen in 2019 polls: Danve
For the Palus Kadegaon assembly bypoll, Vishwajit Kadam is the lone candidate in fray after BJP withdrew its nominee. Such (convention-based) decisions were not taken in Goa and Manipur (where hung assemblies emerged after polls).
16 May 2018

Chlorine 'likely' used in February chemical attack in Syria, watchdog says
Following delays, the OPCW was allowed to access the Douma site where it gathered more than 100 environmental samples. Only Syrian government forces are known to have helicopters.

16 May 2018

Georgia candidate for governor launches 'Deportation Bus Tour'
The state senator's campaign goes on to attack one of his primary opponents, Lt. Casey Cagle, for his "failed leadership" concerning "illegal immigration".

16 May 2018

Nokia to take wraps off its X6 smartphone today
The smartphone has been spotted in a number of leaks till now and there were a lot of speculations surrounding the same. The smartphone has been introduced in China market for now and may soon be arriving to other countries as well.
16 May 2018

Tesla breaks EV towing record
Why the Tesla and Qantas partnership? The Model X towed the empty aircraft for about 300 metres creating the world record. However, the aircraft weighs 130 tonnes, which is much higher than its rated capacity.

16 May 2018

Sony calls time on PS Vita game card production
When Kotaku reached out, a Sony spokesperson confirmed in an email that the PS Vita physical card production is coming to an end. The company has not, however, offered any details on when - rather than if - it plans to retire the Vita itself.

16 May 2018

Voters hand GOP gubernatorial nomination to Scott Wagner
Hampden Township resident Gil Longwell is knocking on doors for Laura Ellsworth. They were campaigning in Philadelphia over the weekend.
16 May 2018

Henry Cavill On Tom Cruise As Green Lantern
Mission: Impossible - Fallout is directed by Christopher McQuarrie , who is no stranger to working with Tom Cruise . The film will cling on to a chopper and land gracefully in United Kingdom cinemas on 26 July.

16 May 2018

Will Barclay appointed to panel selecting NY attorney general; interviews start today
Richard Thomas is charged with allegedly siphoning campaign and inaugural committee money, the New York Daily News reports . Schneiderman himself won over the office in 2010 only when Andrew Cuomo left to run for governor.

16 May 2018

Aliens may well exist in a parallel universe, new studies find
These universes will be filled with Earth-like planets , society, and even Alien life that may be very similar to ours. A group of scientists now believe that aliens exist , but they are in a parallel universe or in another dimension.