Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today in opposition to the nomination of Gina Haspel to be CIA Director. Ms. Haspel played a central role in the CIA's rendition, detention, and interrogation program. This was one of the darkest chapters in our Nation's history, and it must not be repeated. Since her nomination, I and my staff have reviewed thousands of classified documents detailing her role in the program. The takeaway is this: Ms. Haspel was a strong supporter of the torture program. While many CIA operatives expressed hesitation or outright opposition to the program, such as John Brennan, Ms. Haspel was not one of them. As I said last week, this nomination is bigger than one person. This nomination is about reckoning with our history. It is about grappling with our country's mistakes and making clear to the world that we accept responsibility for our mistakes and they will never be repeated. I was struck by Ms. Haspel's repeated insistence at her hearing that the torture program was ``legal.'' The torture program was illegal at the time based on international treaties the United States is signatory to, including the Convention Against Torture and Geneva Convention. While the Office of Legal Counsel signed off on waterboarding and other ``enhanced interrogation techniques,'' its flimsy legal analyses were withdrawn in 2003 and 2004 and should never have taken precedence over international law.…”