Duckworth Statement on CIA Director Nominee Gina Haspel
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement in advance of the Senate vote today on the nomination of Gina Haspel to serve as CIA Director:
“If the United States Senate confirms Gina Haspel to be our nation’s next CIA Director, it would send a terrible message that we have turned our backs on promoting human rights around the globe. One should not need hindsight to understand that torture is, and has always been, immoral, ineffective and wrong. The CIA’s shameful decision to torture detainees betrayed our nation’s values, helped terrorist recruitment and put a much larger target on the backs of U.S. troops and diplomats working in the world’s most dangerous places. Ms. Haspel’s role in that program – supervising the torture of at least one detainee and helping cover up the evidence over the objections of Bush Administration officials, federal court orders and the bipartisan leadership of the House Intelligence Committee – indicates a troubling willingness to disregard the rule of law and should disqualify her from becoming the next CIA director.”
Earlier this month, Duckworth penned an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune that drew on her experiences as a combat Veteran to outline her opposition to Haspel’s nomination.
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