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Senators to press Gina Haspel about her role in CIA torture

May 9, 2018 by  
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WASHINGTON – Gina Haspel, President Trump’s nominee to head the CIA, will face tough questions from senators Wednesday about her role in an agency interrogation program that was outlawed as torture.

The focus of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s confirmation hearing will be on Haspel’s oversight in 2002 of a secret “black site” in Thailand where suspected terrorists were subjected to waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques.

Haspel, a career CIA agent with more than 30 years at the agency, will have to answer questions about her involvement in the destruction of 92 CIA videotapes that showed prisoners being waterboarded — a technique that simulates drowning.

The 61-year-old Kentucky native is likely to promise that, if confirmed, she will oppose any efforts to revive the torture techniques used during the George W. Bush administration after the 9/11 terrorist attacks against America.

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Gina Haspel is a career CIA official and would be the first woman to head the agency. But her involvement in operating CIA “black sites” during the Bush administration is controversial.
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That may be enough to advance her nomination out of the committee, but it’s not clear if it will win over a majority of senators when her confirmation moves to a vote of the full Senate.

Republicans hold a slim 51-49 majority, and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said he will oppose Haspel because of her role in the torture. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is undergoing treatment for brain cancer and may not be available to vote. McCain was a prisoner of war who was tortured by the Viet Cong, and he questioned Haspel’s involvement in torture. No Democrats have come out in favor of Haspel.

President Obama banned torture in 2009, and Congress passed that prohibition into law in 2015. President Trump told ABC News in January 2017 that he ”absolutely” believes that torture “works” and would consider using it again if the CIA director and Defense secretary wanted to do so.

If confirmed, Haspel would be the first woman to lead the spy agency. She would replace Mike Pompeo, who was confirmed by the Senate as the new secretary of State. Haspel was named acting CIA director April 26 after serving as the CIA’s deputy director for about 14 months.

Democrats on the Intelligence Committee complained that the CIA is “covering up” Haspel’s record by refusing to release information.

“It’s completely unacceptable for the CIA to declassify only material that’s favorable to Gina Haspel, while at the same time stonewalling our efforts to declassify all documents related to her involvement in the torture program,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. “Senators and the public need to know more about her record.”

Last month, the CIA released a memo from 2011 showing that Deputy Director Michael Morell cleared Haspel of any wrongdoing in the destruction in 2005 of videotapes that showed prisoner Abu Zubaydah and another detainee being tortured.

Zubaydah, a Saudi citizen, was waterboarded 83 times, suspended from hooks in the ceiling and forced into a coffin for hours at a time, according to a report in 2014 by the Intelligence Committee on the CIA’s use of torture.

After initially accusing Zubaydah of being a top-level al-Qaeda terrorist, U.S. officials acknowledged that he wasn’t a leader but could still be dangerous. He remains in the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Morell’s memo stemmed from a disciplinary review of Haspel’s role in the videotapes’ destruction. Morell wrote that he “found no fault with the performance of Ms. Haspel,” even though she drafted an order to destroy the tapes. Morell said Haspel acted ”on the direct orders” of her boss, Jose Rodriguez, who was chief of the CIA’s clandestine service.

“It was not her decision to destroy the tapes,” Morell wrote in the declassified memo. He said Haspel “acted appropriately.”

More than 50 former national security officials — from Democratic and Republican administrations — endorsed Gina Haspel in a letter sent to the Intelligence Committee in early April. They included former CIA directors John Brennan, Leon Panetta, George Tenet and Michael Hayden. James Clapper, Obama’s director of national intelligence and an outspoken critic of Trump, also signed the letter.

“Given the nature of CIA’s mission, most of her achievements cannot be shared publicly,” her supporters wrote. “But we can tell you she has made vital contributions to the strength and security of our country and has dedicated her life to serving her fellow Americans.”

Haspel has the support of committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., who said, “She has the right skill set, experience and judgment to lead one of our nation’s most critical agencies.”

Haspel’s opponents include more than 100 retired admirals and generals, who said the use of torture by the CIA encourages foreign governments to torture Americans.

“The torture and cruel treatment of prisoners undermines our national security by increasing the risks to our troops, hindering cooperation with allies, alienating populations whose support the United States needs in the struggle against terrorism, and providing a propaganda tool for extremists who wish to do us harm,” the generals and admirals wrote in a letter to senators April 23.

“It would send a terrible signal to confirm as the next Director of the CIA someone who was so intimately involved in this dark chapter of our nation’s history,” they wrote.

The CIA said Haspel’s career, which began in January 1985, was secret until she was named deputy director last year. On May 1, the agency released a declassified timeline of her 20 different assignments. 

Haspel’s most recent assignments include: chief of station in the Europe Division, 2014-2017; deputy director of the National Clandestine Service, 2012-2014; and deputy director of the National Clandestine Service for Foreign Intelligence and Covert Action, in 2012. From 2011-2012, Haspel served as chief of station in a “classified location.” 

The timeline does not include what the CIA described as “more than 30 short-term, temporary duty assignments” over the course of Haspel’s career.

“Through the confirmation process, the American public will get to know her for the first time,” CIA spokesman Ryan Tranpani said. “When they do, we are confident America will be proud to have (Haspel) as the next CIA director.”

The Intelligence Committee’s damning report in 2014 of the CIA’s torture program concluded that the interrogation of detainees was far more brutal than the CIA disclosed and that top officials misled Congress, the Bush administration and the public about what they were doing.

The report said torture techniques — including waterboarding, sleep deprivation and chaining prisoners in painful positions in cold, dark dungeons — did little to elicit valuable information or save American lives. Instead, it encouraged prisoners to lie, the report said.

 

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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How AT&T and Novartis Became Part of the Michael Cohen Saga: DealBook Briefing

May 9, 2018 by  
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Meanwhile, oil continued to rise as the U.S. warned buyers to curb purchases from Iran within six months. (Saudi Arabia, Iran’s regional rival, said it would help stabilize markets.)

Peter Eavis’s take: While Mr. Trump’s foreign policies haven’t yet caused serious losses in the stock market, investors’ stoicism could face greater tests soon. Earnings growth for corporate America this year probably peaked in the first quarter. And since neither the E.U. nor China looks close to caving to Mr. Trump’s threats, global trade tensions look set to escalate.

The big question: How hard will the U.S. crack down on allies who don’t go along with sanctions — is this another trade fight?

Elsewhere in Iran news: Peter Thiel’s Palantir was helping monitor Iran. Some cybersecurity experts fear Iran will now hack more.

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Vodafone’s chief executive, Vittorio Colao.

Credit
Sergio Perez/Reuters

Vodafone’s big deal reshapes European telecoms

In agreeing to buy Liberty Global’s cable networks in Germany and Eastern Europe for $22 billion, the British telecom giant is making the biggest move yet to consolidate the Continent’s internet industry. Vodafone won’t just be in wireless: It will offer high-speed internet and cable to 54 million customers.

Why this matters, according to analysts at JPMorgan Chase (via the FT):

We believe this event is a bellwether for the sector, and could potentially contribute toward a flurry of consolidation across Europe.

Not so fast: Expect Deutsche Telekom, now in Vodafone’s cross hairs, to fight the transaction.

Other telecom-adjacent news: Disney’s best quarterly results in two years were overshadowed by Comcast’s amassing a war chest to potentially challenge its Fox bid. James Murdoch won’t join Disney in any case. ESPN’s $750 million, five-year U.F.C. streaming deal shows that sports rights remain highly valuable. Sinclair Broadcasting may woo Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro. SoftBank’s latest earnings surpassed estimates because Sprint finally turned a quarterly profit.

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The political flyaround

• Richard Cordray, the former head of the C.F.P.B., won the Democratic nomination for Ohio governor, while Don Blankenship, the former Massey Energy C.E.O., came in third in the Republican Senate primary in West Virginia. (NYT)

• The House voted to scrap an Obama-era rule meant to prevent discrimination by auto lenders. (NYT)

• Insurers in some markets plan huge price increases for Affordable Care Act plans, partly because of the repeal of the individual mandate. (Axios)

• The tax incentives that Racine, Wis., or Newark throw at Foxconn or Amazon are signs of desperation, Eduardo Porter writes. (NYT)

• Shareholder gun-control activists plan to speak at Sturm Ruger’s annual meeting today, but don’t expect much change. (NYT)

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Eric Schneiderman

Credit
Frank Franklin Ii/Associated Press

Inside the race to replace Eric Schneiderman

New York lawmakers have been considering whether to replace the state’s attorney general, a leading critic of both President Trump and Harvey Weinstein, with a woman. Potential candidates include Letitia James, New York City’s public advocate, and Kathleen Rice, who challenged Mr. Schneiderman for the job. (Ben Lawsky, once New York’s top financial regulator, has also been mentioned.)

Whoever replaces Mr. Schneiderman must decide whether to continue his moves against Mr. Trump.

And Gov. Andrew Cuomo has appointed a special prosecutor — not the Manhattan district attorney, Cy Vance Jr. — to investigate Mr. Schneiderman.

Elsewhere in workplace misconduct: Five more Nike executives have left amid a furor over harassment and discrimination. A judge approved the sale of Weinstein Company assets to Lantern Capital. And Martin Sorrell, who left WPP after unspecified allegations, plans a new venture.

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Yuriko Nakao/Reuters

The deals flyaround

• Toshiba is reportedly worried that Chinese regulators won’t approve its $18 billion deal to sell its memory business to a group led by Bain Capital. (WSJ)

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• Glassdoor, the recruiting site, agreed to sell itself to Japan’s Recruit for $1.2 billion. (Bloomberg)

• Keystone Foods, the main U.S. supplier of Chicken McNuggets, has reportedly drawn interest from Cargill, Tyson Foods and Fosun International. (Bloomberg)

• The billionaire Albert Frère sold his 6.6 percent stake in Burberry, sending shares in the fashion house down nearly 7 percent. (Bloomberg)

• Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and Ashkenazy Acquisition agreed to buy full control of the Plaza Hotel in New York for a reported $600 million. (WSJ)

• TPG Capital is reportedly in talks to invest in Anastasia Beverly Hills, a makeup company, at a $3 billion valuation. (CNBC)

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Chris Cox

Credit
Peter Earl McCollough for The New York Times

What does Facebook’s reorganization signal?

The company’s biggest mainstream products outside its main app — Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp — will now fall under Facebook’s chief product officer, Chris Cox. A group of emerging technologies, including a new blockchain-focused team, will be overseen by Mike Schroepfer, the chief tech officer. And ads, personnel, security and growth will be run by Javier Olivan, who has led growth efforts.

Though the move had been under consideration for a while, the Cambridge Analytica scandal sped up those efforts, according to the NYT. And it may streamline reporting lines and help keep Facebook nimble. But while it gives Mr. Cox in particular more prominence, it doesn’t fundamentally change things.

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Elsewhere in Facebook news: The company will block political ads from groups outside Ireland ahead of that country’s referendum on abortion. And Jeffrey Zients, an Obama administration official, will replace the WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum as a director.

Elsewhere in tech: Here’s a prototype Uber flying taxi. The surge in A.I. and cryptocurrencies has created a shortage of graphics chips. Japan’s industrial future might be stuff that makes stuff. The union-affiliated CtW Investment Group plans to campaign against several Tesla directors. What else tech giants can do to improve racial diversity.

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Sally Yates

Credit
Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images

Revolving door

Sally Yates, the former acting attorney general, has returned to King Spalding as a partner specializing in investigations. (King Spalding)

• Jefferies has hired Peter Scheman from Goldman Sachs as a co-head of Americas industrial banking. (Reuters)

The speed read

• MoviePass, which goes through about $21.7 million a month, has $15.5 million left in cash. (Bloomberg)

• Deutsche Bank is reportedly considering cutting about a fifth of its U.S. staff. (Bloomberg)

• Picasso’s “Fillette à la Corbeille Fleurie,” once owned by David and Peggy Rockefeller, sold for $115 million at auction. And a New York judge rejected a lawsuit against the sale of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s “Flesh and Spirit.”

• The House of Lords amended Brexit legislation to demand that Britain stay in the European Economic Area. (BBC)

• Argentina has begun negotiating for credit from the I.M.F., still widely blamed there for a 2001 debt crisis. (NYT)

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• Denver Post journalists came to Manhattan to protest the paper’s owner, the hedge fund Alden Global Capital. (NYT)

• Nordstrom Rack’s president flew to St. Louis to apologize to three black teens it had falsely accused of attempted theft. (NYT)

• Audi, Volkswagen’s luxury brand, found emissions-manipulating software in about 60,000 of its best-selling diesel vehicles. (WSJ)

We’d love your feedback. Please email thoughts and suggestions to bizday@nytimes.com.

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