Haspel endures Senate interrogation

President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the CIA faced a tough grilling Wednesday morning during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Gina Haspel, 61, tried to assure senators she would not return to the tactics the agency used shortly after the 9/11 attacks. “I would not allow CIA to undertake activity that I thought was immoral, even if it was technically legal,” Haspel said. “I would absolutely not permit it.” Haspel, a 33-year veteran of the agency, ran a covert detention site in Thailand where terror suspects were waterboarded. Although Trump previously said he supported waterboarding—and harsher interrogation tactics—Haspel told senators she didn’t believe the president would ask her to resume the controversial technique. Protesters interrupted the hearing several times, shouting “Prosecute the torturers!” and “Bloody Gina!” Haspel admitted the agency learned “tough lessons” after 9/11 and said she didn’t know how much waterboarding and other harsh treatments helped gain information from terror suspects. Haspel joined the CIA in 1985 as a case officer in the clandestine service. She worked her way up the ranks, mostly in the shadows. Lawmakers have access to little public information about her or her career, one reason her detention work has generated so much attention. If confirmed, Haspel would be the first woman to lead the CIA, but she faces an uphill battle in the full Senate.