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Haspel Vows to Never Restart Interrogation, Detention Program - Reports

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Acting CIA Director Gina Haspel is telling US senators in closed meetings that she will not restart an interrogation and detention program if she is confirmed to officially head the agency, media reported on Friday.
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CBS News, citing former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell and former CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden, said Haspel told senators in private meetings that she would "never let the CIA restart an interrogation and detention program."

Haspel vowed to keep the CIA focused on its primary duty of collection and analysis, the report said.

Newly-Declassified Records Confirm CIA Director Haspel Supervised Torture
The Senate Intelligence Committee scheduled a hearing for May 9 to consider Haspel’s nomination to be the next CIA director.

Haspel oversaw the interrogation of a detainee at a secret US prison in Thailand who was waterboarded 83 times in a single month. She also reportedly participated in the destruction of videos of interrogations using techniques, which have since been formally labeled torture and outlawed by Congress.

Haspel’s nomination has been publicly supported by many lawmakers, including Senator Dianne Feinstein who headed the Senate committee that released the infamous CIA torture report against her.

Feinstein told reporters in March that Haspel was "a good deputy director of the CIA," and she hopes the agency learned its lessons. US Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr in a March press release said Haspel has the experience and judgment necessary to lead the CIA and vowed to ensure her nomination was considered without delay.

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