With his last dying breath...
Of course, had Trump nominated someone different he would have gotten McCain's full support.
WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain urged his Senate colleagues Wednesday night to reject Gina Haspel's nomination for CIA director, saying she failed to adequately answer questions about her role in the agency's torture program at a confirmation hearing earlier in the day.
On May 9th this story broke:
McCain did for the Republican party what Benedict Arnold did for the American Continental Army.
Another fine example:
Senator McCain reveals 'it was his duty' to give infamous golden showers dossier to the FBI and slams Trump for his 'reality show facsimile of toughness' in upcoming memoir
Another fine example:
Senator McCain reveals 'it was his duty' to give infamous golden showers dossier to the FBI and slams Trump for his 'reality show facsimile of toughness' in upcoming memoir
The Arizona senator is the second Republican to come out against Haspel's confirmation, meaning that GOP leaders may not have enough votes to confirm her. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has vowed to oppose Haspel because of her role in the agency's now-outlawed torture program.
Republicans hold a slim 51-49 majority in the Senate, and "no" votes by two Republicans could sink Haspel's nomination. So far, no Democrats have announced that they will support her.
McCain's opinion carries great weight because he is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a former prisoner of war who was tortured by the Viet Cong in Hanoi during the Vietnam War. He has been an outspoken critic of the CIA's past use of torture, which was banned during the Obama administration.
McCain, who is undergoing cancer treatment in Arizona, could help defeat Haspel's nomination even if he is not well enough to fly to Washington, D.C., to vote. His absence also could deprive Republicans of the 51 votes they need to confirm Haspel.
"I believe Gina Haspel is a patriot who loves our country and has devoted her professional life to its service and defense," McCain said. "However, Ms. Haspel's role in overseeing the use of torture by Americans is disturbing. Her refusal to acknowledge torture's immorality is disqualifying. I believe the Senate should exercise its duty of advice and consent and reject this nomination."
Haspel testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday that, if confirmed, she would not restart the CIA's controversial interrogation. After the 9/11 attacks on America, the agency used waterboarding and other torture techniques to try to get information from suspected terrorists during the George W. Bush administration.
"Having served in that tumultuous time, I can offer you my personal commitment, clearly and without reservation, that under my leadership, on my watch, CIA will not restart such a detention and interrogation program," she told the senators. However, she stopped short of condemning the agency's past actions as immoral.
McCain said he doesn't believe Haspel went far enough in providing details about her CIA experience and her involvement in torture.
"Like many Americans, I understand the urgency that drove the decision to resort to so-called enhanced interrogation methods after our country was attacked," McCain said. "But as I have argued many times, the methods we employ to keep our nation safe must be as right and just as the values we aspire to live up to and promote in the world."
The Intelligence Committee is expected to recommend Haspel's confirmation to the full Senate. Republicans make up eight of the 15 members of the panel, and they all indicated Wednesday that they would support Haspel when the committee votes in the next few weeks.
CIA director nominee Gina Haspel says she wouldn't allow the agency to undertake "immoral" activities, even at the request of President Donald Trump. USA TODAY, USA TODAY
The only GOP senator on the committee who had expressed serious reservations about Haspel — Sen. Susan Collins of Maine — announced after Wednesday's hearing that she would support her confirmation.
"At the hearing, I questioned Ms. Haspel regarding the enhanced interrogation program that was started after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks," Collins said in a statement. "I have long believed — and have consistently stated— that this program was completely unacceptable and that waterboarding is tantamount to torture."
However, Collins cited Haspel's testimony that she "played no role in the creation of the interrogation program and that she wasn't even aware of its existence until more a year after it began."
"Furthermore, she said that she supported the 2015 law changes and made clear that she does not believe that the CIA should be in the 'interrogation business,'" Collins said. "She testified that under her leadership, the CIA would follow the law and would not resume enhanced interrogations and that she would not seek to repeal the law."
Democratic committee members focused much of their questioning on Haspel's oversight in 2002 of a secret "black site" in Thailand where suspected terrorists were subjected to waterboarding and confined in coffin-shaped boxes for hours.
Haspel, who spent more than 30 years as a covert agent before becoming the CIA's deputy director last year, also faced questions about her involvement in the destruction of 92 videotapes that showed prisoners being waterboarded.
She testified that she drafted the order to destroy the tapes at the direction of her boss, who decided to issue the directive on his own.
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