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Democrats Shamed for Supporting Gina Haspel, CIA Nominee Who Oversaw 'Chaining Detainees to Ceiling for Days, Naked or in Diapers'

CIA Director nominee Gina Haspel is sworn in during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence May 9, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Democrats Shamed for Supporting Gina Haspel, CIA Nominee Who Oversaw 'Chaining Detainees to Ceiling for Days, Naked or in Diapers'

ACLU reminded lawmakers that Trump's nominee also "oversaw torture methods based on 1960s-era experiments on dogs."

After the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday advanced Gina Haspel's nomination to direct the CIA despite the key role she played in agency's post-9/11 torture program, the full chamber is poised to offer its final approval--with the large majority of Republicans and at least five Democrats pledging to vote in favor--which critics are calling "an affront to human rights."

The ACLU, in a series of tweets, shared the details about Haspel's history that are publicly known, and said the committee had "voted to reward a dark, criminal chapter of our country's history when it shouldn't have agreed to a vote until Haspel's full torture record was made public." Calling Wednesday's 10-5 vote "an embarrassment to our democracy," the group urged other members of the Senate to "do the job the committee failed to."

Two Republicans--Sens. John McCain (Ariz.) Rand Paul (Ky.)--are openly opposing Haspel. However, in a move that's been called "beyond shameful," five Democrats--Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Joe Donnelly, (Ind.), Mark Warner (Va.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), and Bill Nelson (Fla.)--have said they plan join with the rest of the GOP and vote for Haspel, which makes it likely her nomination will clear the full Senate.

Responding to the committee's vote on Wednesday, Daphne Eviatar of Amnesty International USA said, "Due to the overwhelming public evidence suggesting Haspel's participation and compliance with crimes including torture, enforced disappearance, and obstruction of justice, Haspel's nomination is an affront to human rights."

The United States, Eviatar added, "has not held any officials accountable for the use of torture, so it's even more outrageous that the government is considering someone to the chief intelligence position in spite of her alleged participation in that clearly illegal and immoral activity."

The controversy surrounding Haspel's nomination has led to renewed calls for the Justice Department to publicly release the Durham report, which details a probe launched in 2008, after Haspel and her colleagues destroyed 92 video tapes that showed CIA agents torturing detainees, and later expanded to assess "alleged CIA mistreatment of detainees" and "whether federal laws were violated in connection with the interrogation of specific detainees at overseas locations."

While an executive summary of the report was provided to members of the Senate Intelligence Committee during their deliberations on whether to advance Haspel's nomination, the full report remains classified. Democratic lawmakers and other opponents of Haspel have turned to Twitter to demand its release with the hashtag #UnlockDurhamReport.

And while the Justice Department would have to declassify that particular report, as Win Without War pointed out Wednesday, Haspel, as the CIA's acting director, has the power to declassify other records that would shed light on her history with the agency.

Although Haspel's confirmation now seems imminent--with a full Senate vote expected as early as this week--human rights advocates continue to raise alarm about what is known of her torture record and strongly condemn the Democrats who are expected make her ascension to the top of the CIA possible.

In a series of tweets, Indivisible's foreign policy manager Elizabeth Beavers called out each Democrat who has said they will vote for Haspel and highlighted some particularly gruesome details from the CIA torture program Haspel helped impose. Beavers has said she will also compose tweets to call out Republican senators, because "torture is not a partisan issue."

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ciagina haspeltortureus senatewar on terror

After the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday advanced Gina Haspel's nomination to direct the CIA despite the key role she played in agency's post-9/11 torture program, the full chamber is poised to offer its final approval--with the large majority of Republicans and at least five Democrats pledging to vote in favor--which critics are calling "an affront to human rights."

The ACLU, in a series of tweets, shared the details about Haspel's history that are publicly known, and said the committee had "voted to reward a dark, criminal chapter of our country's history when it shouldn't have agreed to a vote until Haspel's full torture record was made public." Calling Wednesday's 10-5 vote "an embarrassment to our democracy," the group urged other members of the Senate to "do the job the committee failed to."

Two Republicans--Sens. John McCain (Ariz.) Rand Paul (Ky.)--are openly opposing Haspel. However, in a move that's been called "beyond shameful," five Democrats--Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Joe Donnelly, (Ind.), Mark Warner (Va.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), and Bill Nelson (Fla.)--have said they plan join with the rest of the GOP and vote for Haspel, which makes it likely her nomination will clear the full Senate.

Responding to the committee's vote on Wednesday, Daphne Eviatar of Amnesty International USA said, "Due to the overwhelming public evidence suggesting Haspel's participation and compliance with crimes including torture, enforced disappearance, and obstruction of justice, Haspel's nomination is an affront to human rights."

The United States, Eviatar added, "has not held any officials accountable for the use of torture, so it's even more outrageous that the government is considering someone to the chief intelligence position in spite of her alleged participation in that clearly illegal and immoral activity."

The controversy surrounding Haspel's nomination has led to renewed calls for the Justice Department to publicly release the Durham report, which details a probe launched in 2008, after Haspel and her colleagues destroyed 92 video tapes that showed CIA agents torturing detainees, and later expanded to assess "alleged CIA mistreatment of detainees" and "whether federal laws were violated in connection with the interrogation of specific detainees at overseas locations."

While an executive summary of the report was provided to members of the Senate Intelligence Committee during their deliberations on whether to advance Haspel's nomination, the full report remains classified. Democratic lawmakers and other opponents of Haspel have turned to Twitter to demand its release with the hashtag #UnlockDurhamReport.

And while the Justice Department would have to declassify that particular report, as Win Without War pointed out Wednesday, Haspel, as the CIA's acting director, has the power to declassify other records that would shed light on her history with the agency.

Although Haspel's confirmation now seems imminent--with a full Senate vote expected as early as this week--human rights advocates continue to raise alarm about what is known of her torture record and strongly condemn the Democrats who are expected make her ascension to the top of the CIA possible.

In a series of tweets, Indivisible's foreign policy manager Elizabeth Beavers called out each Democrat who has said they will vote for Haspel and highlighted some particularly gruesome details from the CIA torture program Haspel helped impose. Beavers has said she will also compose tweets to call out Republican senators, because "torture is not a partisan issue."

After the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday advanced Gina Haspel's nomination to direct the CIA despite the key role she played in agency's post-9/11 torture program, the full chamber is poised to offer its final approval--with the large majority of Republicans and at least five Democrats pledging to vote in favor--which critics are calling "an affront to human rights."

The ACLU, in a series of tweets, shared the details about Haspel's history that are publicly known, and said the committee had "voted to reward a dark, criminal chapter of our country's history when it shouldn't have agreed to a vote until Haspel's full torture record was made public." Calling Wednesday's 10-5 vote "an embarrassment to our democracy," the group urged other members of the Senate to "do the job the committee failed to."

Two Republicans--Sens. John McCain (Ariz.) Rand Paul (Ky.)--are openly opposing Haspel. However, in a move that's been called "beyond shameful," five Democrats--Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Joe Donnelly, (Ind.), Mark Warner (Va.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), and Bill Nelson (Fla.)--have said they plan join with the rest of the GOP and vote for Haspel, which makes it likely her nomination will clear the full Senate.

Responding to the committee's vote on Wednesday, Daphne Eviatar of Amnesty International USA said, "Due to the overwhelming public evidence suggesting Haspel's participation and compliance with crimes including torture, enforced disappearance, and obstruction of justice, Haspel's nomination is an affront to human rights."

The United States, Eviatar added, "has not held any officials accountable for the use of torture, so it's even more outrageous that the government is considering someone to the chief intelligence position in spite of her alleged participation in that clearly illegal and immoral activity."

The controversy surrounding Haspel's nomination has led to renewed calls for the Justice Department to publicly release the Durham report, which details a probe launched in 2008, after Haspel and her colleagues destroyed 92 video tapes that showed CIA agents torturing detainees, and later expanded to assess "alleged CIA mistreatment of detainees" and "whether federal laws were violated in connection with the interrogation of specific detainees at overseas locations."

While an executive summary of the report was provided to members of the Senate Intelligence Committee during their deliberations on whether to advance Haspel's nomination, the full report remains classified. Democratic lawmakers and other opponents of Haspel have turned to Twitter to demand its release with the hashtag #UnlockDurhamReport.

And while the Justice Department would have to declassify that particular report, as Win Without War pointed out Wednesday, Haspel, as the CIA's acting director, has the power to declassify other records that would shed light on her history with the agency.

Although Haspel's confirmation now seems imminent--with a full Senate vote expected as early as this week--human rights advocates continue to raise alarm about what is known of her torture record and strongly condemn the Democrats who are expected make her ascension to the top of the CIA possible.

In a series of tweets, Indivisible's foreign policy manager Elizabeth Beavers called out each Democrat who has said they will vote for Haspel and highlighted some particularly gruesome details from the CIA torture program Haspel helped impose. Beavers has said she will also compose tweets to call out Republican senators, because "torture is not a partisan issue."

ciagina haspeltortureus senatewar on terror