the c.i.a.she is set to face tough questions as the very first woman, by the way, to head the c.i.a. about her tenure running a black site prison where terror suspects were water boarded. expected to address the controversy in her opening remarks pledging that under her leadership the agency would not bring back those techniques which critics say amount to torture. chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge is live on capitol hill this morning. >> the session today is broken down into two sessions. the first will be the public confirmation hearing that should last 2 1/2 hours and then the closed classified session that will take place behind closed doors. in advance of today's testimony the c.i.a. released these excerpts late last night and deal head on with one of the central lines of questioning we anticipate today which is haspel's role in the bush-era interrogation program that critics call torture. it reads having served in that time i can offer you my personal commitment clearly a

c.i.a. is we follow the law. we followed the law then and we follow the law now. but i would never permit c.i.a. to resume an interrogation program. >> so that's a very good segue into a very important question. as the candidate, president trump repeatedly expressed his support for water boarding. in fact, he said we should go beyond water boarding. so if the c.i.a. has a high value terrorism suspect in its custody and the president gave you a direct order to waterboard that suspect, what would you do? >> senator, i would advise -- i do not believe the president would ask me to do that. but we have today in the u.s. government other u.s. government entities that conduct interrogations. d.o.d. uses the army field manual and they conduct battlefield interrogations and c.i.a. has incredible expertise it can bring to the table in support of those interrogations. the f.b.i. has its authorities to conduct interrogations. and as you know, we have the high value interrogation group. so i would be ad

today, c.i.a. officers are deployed across the globe sometimes at silingt risk collecting intelligence. i have spent my entire career and if confirmed i will be able tore leverage that experience eginning on day one. in light of my counterterrorism experience, i understand that what many people want to know about my views on c.i.a.'s on sbrotion programs. i have views on this issue and i want to be clear. having served in that time, i can offer you my personal commitment, clearly and without reservation that under my leadership, on my watch, c.i.a. will not restart a detention and interrogation program. c.i.a. has learned some tough lessons from that experience. we were asked to tackle a mission that fell outside our expertise. for me, there is no better example than what the agency took away from that program. in pretty trow expect, it is clear as the majority report concluded that c.i.a. was not to conduct a program. today, the u.s. depoft has a clear, legal and policy framework that governance t

haspel because she knows the c.i.a. inside and out. another one of president obama's c.i.a. directors, john brennan, said ms. haspel has the experience, the breadth and depth on intelligence issues. and former c.i.a. director michael hayden who served under president clinton and george w. bush called ms. haspel a great choice. these are three of more than 50 national security officials who signed a letter to the senate intelligence committee supporting her nomination. as a member of that committee, i've worked with gina haspel during her time overseas and as deputy c.i.a. director, and i can attest to her professionalism, her work ethic and, most important, her character. this is a skilled, brave, patriotic woman who will serve our country with distinction in this most critical post. her dedication to our country throughout her life is complete, and that is why i will be proud to cast my vote for the confirmation of gina haspel, and i urge all senators to do the same. thank you. mr. president, i'd ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding of

haspel's role in the c.i.a. is disturbing. to begin with -- and i've listened to senators on both sides -- i don't question ms. haspel's commitment to our country or to our national security. that, i think she's established. but what i question is her judgment and her fidelity to the core value of our nation. all -- that all people have is certain inalienable rights. and underlying these inalienable rights is our belief in the dignity of human beings, a dignity that's incompatible with the inhumane practices like torture. torture should never be part of the america -- of america's way of leading the world. during the height of the c.i.a.'s torture program ms. haspel ran one of the agency's most notorious black sites in thailand. brutal techniques were employed. it included waterboarding detainees, slamming them against walls and confining them in boxes for an extended time. there was a name for this treatment. it was called enhanced interrogation techniques, but we know better. this wasn't enhanced interrogation techniques, it

the c.i.a. targets a foreigner to find out what an american is saying. one way to help prevent reverse targeting is to recognize when the government is conducting lots of backdoor searches on americans and then sending around reports on those americans, maybe it's the americans who the government is really interested in. and by the way, the privacy board agrees with it and so does the courant assistant attorney general for national security -- the current assistant attorney general for national security. given all that, the prospect of what it would mean for americans, i asked ms. haspel about it. again, what i got back was plenty of words but nothing that provided any assurance that the c.i.a. has any system at all for guarding against reverse targeting of americans under the foreign intelligence surveillance act. also, the agency collects a lot of intelligence under an executive order known as 12 triple 3. i wanted to know if the agency was conducting backdoor searches on americans through tha

haspel's c.i.a. information that doesn't need to be classified to protect national security is being covered up for political purposes. now, speaking of orwel, the classification rules themselves are going to be classified. i have been concerned about this tendency for years, and i want to emphasize i have made it clear to political leaders of both political parties, and i continue to believe that if the c.i.a. and ms. haspel can get away with all this, the worst is yet to come. as i've been saying since she was nominated, i have a host of concerns about all of these issues. i hope that senators will exercise independent judgment here and there is a classified intelligence committee minority memo about ms. haspel, and i hope every senator will go read it and ask themselves publicly if the american people actually knew about all this, how would i vote? what i can say is her classified comments about her background have been as troubling as her public testimony, and what i can say is when i did get unc

of the c.i.a. that's all important, but i think what's most important is that the american people know and this body know that she is very well-qualified, very, very impressive person who i just had the opportunity to the talk to. first of all, she's very highly decorated in her 30-plus career at the central intelligence agency. her honors, decorations include the intelligence medal of merit, presidential rank award, the donovania ward, which is one of the highest awards in the c.i.a., the george w. bush award for excellence in counterterrorism. and she's thoughtful. she's honest, and in many ways she's overcome numerous obstacles. let me just talk a little bit about her bio. one of five children, her father served in the air force, having joined at the age of 17, so she grew up on military bases, like tens of thousands of americans, and her original goal in life was to be a soldier. told her dad she wanted to go to west point. well, at the time her father had to break the news to her that west poi

the former c.i.a. director john brennan was a top decision-maker for this controversial interrogation program. he was confirmed by the senate as the c.i.a. director under president obama. gina haspel at that time was a mid-level manager at the c.i.a. and had no say on policy. >> i think gina haspel should be given the same shake that john brennan was given. that is, it is fair for the committee to look into the records and fair for them to ask the tough questions. ultimately, they have to let the facts guide their decision-making. and the decision-making is about whether this individual is qualified to lead that agency. >> the way the vote is stacking up at this point it will come down to a handful of senators. rand paul, i told this at the end of last week, he did not have a meeting set to meet with haspel before wednesday's confirmation hearing. but he was still open to that meeting if it is able to happen. dana? >> dana: all right, thank you. >> you're welcome. >> dana: for more i'm joined by john y

she has been in the c.i.a. since 1985 and has former c.i.a. directors and the individuals that are supporting her saying she is the right woman for the job. he has a strong case. >> harris: john brennan went through and he was much farther up the top. same interrogation program. what are your thoughts that democrats stand on this. >> democrats have a right to ask questions and uncover the truth, the accuracy and understanding of what the person is about. this is a very important job. if we don't have the two sides arguing over the come knees and the picks then we don't have a democracy. the democrats are doing what they have been elected to do by their own constituents. this is not something out of the norm. this is not something extreme. this is not -- >> harris: it happened with john brennan. sure. >> partisan politics so some extent but the senators are there to ask questions. >> harris: does she get confirmed? >> yes. >> harris: lisa? >> i think so. i hope so. they are there to ask tough questions but not there to railroad someone unnecess

haspel testified the c.i.a. will never go there again. >> i support the higher moral standard that this country has decided to hold itself to. i would never ever take c.i.a. back to an interrogation program. i would not put c.i.a. officers at risk by asking them to undertake risky controversial activity again. >> haspel testified her supervisor jose rodriguez who made the call to destroy the videotapes that found the interrogation of one al-qaeda suspect. this was done, she said, because they were concerned that the c.i.a. officers were visible on these tapes and they could ultimately be released. jose rodriguez has stood by that decision and he had the authority to make that decision to this day. haspel corrected one of the senior senators on the panel today, senator dianne feinstein, by confirming that there were 92 videotapes of the interrogation of one detainee. this detainee is the mastermind behind the uss cole attack in the gulf of aiden that is considered the seminole attack before 9/11. but on this issu

after 9/11, c.i.a.ed at lest six "black sites" for what was then called enhanced interrogation. inside what are believed to be c.i.a.-run buildings, detainees were subject to brutal interrogation techniques such ad waterboaing, sleep deprivation, and confinement in coffin-like boxes. in 2014 senate democrats released a report haying detaineebeen "tortured," and the techniques were "not an effective means of acquiring intelligence." t by the program had already ended, today haspel promised never to restart it. >> i can offer you my personal commitment, clearly and without servation, that under my leadership, on my watch c.i.a. will not restart such a detentioand interrogation program. >> schifrin: but democrats wanteder to go farther. california's kamala harris: >> do you believe in hindsight that those techniques were immoral? >> senator, what i believett g here today is that i support the higher moral standard we have decided ourselve >> could you please answer the question? >> senator, i believe i've

i would never, ever take c.i.a.to an interrogation program >> schifrin: haspel's believedav torun a site in thailand where abd al rahim al-nashiri, accused of bombing the u.s.s. scole" in 2000, waterboarded. >> where was that moral compass at the time? >> schifrin: new mex heinrich.n >> when you're out in the tsenches at far flung outp in the globe, and washington says this is what you neis to do, s legal, the attorney general has deemed it so, the president of the united states is counting on you-- >> i know you think it's legal. you're giving very legalistic answers to very fundamentally moral quesons. >> in all of my assignments, ion have cducted myself honorably and in accordance to us law. >>chifrin: as a candiate, president trump vowed to bring the interrogation program back. >> i would bring back waterboarding and i'd bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding. >> what would yodo if the president ordered you to get back in that business? >> i would not restart under any circumstances an interrogation

every c.i.a. officer has taken the same oath that i just did to support and defend the constitution against all enemies and today i recommit i will do everything in my power to justify the faith that president trump and the american people have placed in us. and to make sure that c.i.a. continues to provide the intelligence needed to keep our country safe. i would be remiss if i did not also note the tremendous pride i take in being the first woman to serve as director. i would not be standing before you today if not for the remarkable courage and dedication displayed by generations of oss and agency women in roles both large and small who brokedown barriers and opened doors for the rest of us. i am deeply indebted to them and extremely proud to follow in their footsteps and to carry on their extraordinary legacy. i stand on the shoulders of people who never sought public acclaim but served for generations after them. i want to express a special thank you and welcome to eliza and zoe who have join

the york post said today that geena haspel has headed four c.i.a. offices around the world and post-9/11 was senior level supervisor in counterterrorism "the post" further noted her integrity and significantly her political impartiality are unchallenged. she deserves quick confirmation without partisan theatrics. the bottom line acting director haspel has an unparalleled understanding of the c.i.a. and is the right person to lead it in these dangerous times. lastly on a lighter note i would like to congratulate katherine and alex, two members of the white house press corps, for over the gement weekend, i don't know even know if they showed up today, i would have given them a question, but since i don't see themming kevin we'll go with you. reporter: is it true the president and yourself and others had to convince geena haspel had to convince her not to withdraw her name from consideration, what was that like and has this situation happened? and a followup on don blankenship. why does the president believe he can't win an election. ms. sanders: in re

there is an unparalleled understanding of the c.i.a. and the right person to lead it during these dangerous times. astly, and on a slightly lighter note i would like to congratulate catherine and alex, two members of the white house core on their engagement so the weekend congratulations, >> i don't know if they even showed up today. laugh laugh >> i'll go with you. first, on gina, is it true, he president, yourself and others, had to convince her not to withdraw her name from what eration, and if so, was that like and has that circumstance happened before since you've been at your in the white house and a follow up about blankenship, the president believe he can't win an election? >> let me answer the first question and we'll come back to in regards to acting director, her commitment to the of the reasons to she's the right person lead it. she wants to do everything she an to make sure the integrity of the c.i.a. remains intact. it's necessarily attacked and if her nomination would have been a problem for that and wanted agency, then s

[laughter] you live in the c.i.a., you live the c.i.a. and you breathe the c.i.a.u will lead the c.i.a., congratulations. [cheering and applause] okay, that means we're keeping her, right? that was -- that's what we were waiting for. they love you. they respect you. they respect you, too. a native of ashland, kentucky. her father served in the u.s. air force. she spent much of her childhood overseas. from a young age she was instilled with a deep love of our country, which combined with a thirst for adventure. that led her to the c.i.a. throughout her storied career at this agency she has done it all. she has completed seven field tours, served as a case officer, recruited assets, run stations, captured terrorists, and disrupted networks that proliferate deadly weapons. they send those weapons all over and you catch them. you will get even better now. better than ever before. you are the best and you'll be better than ever before and we are getting you the resources to do it. our enemies will take note gina is tough, she is strong, and when it comes to defending am

as a four-time deployer, i did endure iraqi freedom, and the c.i.a. director is in a whole different -- is bipartisan -- both. once dissecting it, arguing on the party lines, i think in her day-to-day operations, is going to have the effect that people really think. when i was over there, and i seen what they would do to get their goals accomplished, she needs to be a little bit hard. they need to think that. she's going to make sure our agenda is met. >> let me does you this question if i could, mark. what about the argument that is made that if we, the u.s. does a technique, for sure, waterboarding, whatever you want to call it, we open up our soldiers to being subjected to similar techniques if they're captured? how do you respond to that? caller: well, they are going to do it to our soldiers anyway. if you feel you're not going to do any means necessary, get information out of our guys, that they are going to do that, but we are held to a higher standard i heard previously. we are held to a higher standard, and we are, we should act accordingly. b

and i would just say that john brennan, the number four at the c.i.a., who was confirmed with a vote of 64 bipartisan votes in the senate, he was number four at the c.i.a., whereas, when she was there at that particular time, she was the equivalent of g.s.15, roughly major lieutenant colonel, obviously not a management person when it comes to running the c.i.a. but i think the democrats are running out of excuses to block this highly qualified nominee and i hope more of our senate democratic colleagues will come across the aisle and support her as they should. >> as the leader pointed out, we had a good discussion with the president today and as the leader also mentioned, a lot of it had to do with what's happening in the economy and i think the president rightfully can take great credit for some significant strides that we've made. if look at the economy today, i think it's a reflection that a pro growth, pro jobs agenda can make a profound difference in the lives of the american people. unemployment is at a 17-year low. in the month of march, there was a record number of jobs creat

as c.i.a. director, director, gl would help defend the homeland from terrorists and help secure america's position on the world stage. this excellent nominee possesses the resume, reputation, and unique skill set to lead the c.i.a. at this critical juncture. i'm glad my colleagues on the central intelligence committee can meet with her and thoroughly examine her credentials. on another matter, the senate is in the midst of processing six well-qualified nominees for the federal bench. we voted to invoke cloture on the nomination of kurt engelhardt and today we will vote to confirm him. given his impressive qualifications, his arrival on the bench won't come a moment too soon. lawyers have described him as a wonderful judge with excellent legal ability who is very thoughtful and analytical. one said, quote, he would be great on the fifth circuit. after judge engelhardt, we'll vote to advance the nomination of michael brennan of wisconsin, another nominee who has earned the a.b.a.'s highest rating

i would not allow the c.i.a.undertake activity that i thought was immoral, even if it was technically legal. >> reporter: haspel was also questioned about a memo she helped author that ordered the destruction of 92 video acordings of the interrogations. she said it was her boss who gave the final order. >> no, i never watched the npes, but i understood that our officers' faces were on them, and that was very dangerous at a time when there were unauthorized disclosures that were exposing the program. >> glor: jeff pegues is on capitol hill. noff, after today, how likely is it that her nomination, gina haspel's nomination, goes through? >> reporter: well, despite being grilled by some democrats, she did pick up the support of west virginia's joe manchin, who said that he will vote to confirm her. also late today, susan collins, republican of maine, said that she is a yes vote. and it looks like she has the support of much of the c.i.a. one former employee told me that the rank-and-file believes that an insider is b

that's the men and women of the c.i.a. and distinguished current and former intelligence community leaders. the safety and security of the american people depend on capable intelligence, leadership. gina haspel is the right woman at the right time. senators on both sides of the aisle agree. so i urge each of my colleagues to rise to the occasion and swiftly confirm our next c.i.a. director. now, mr. president, on another matter, with republican policies shaking the regulatory rust off the u.s. economy, american job creators, entrepreneurs, and working families have been thinking big again. for eight years democrats pushed a one-size-fits-all agenda that heaped outsize benefits on the largest cities and left the rest of the country struggling to catch up. now, main street businesses across america feel the wind is at their backs so they're expanding their operations, buying more equipment, and hiring new workers. for too long taxpayers grappled with an outdated federal tax code that seemed to keep more of their hard earned

the director of the c.i.a. in 2018 should agree with this assessment or be able to give a really good explanation of why not. as someone seeking to be the director of the c.i.a. should be able to state clearly that torture is wrong. but when repeatedly asked a yes or no question by my colleague, senator kamala harris, were the c.i.a.'s actions immoral, ms. haspel danced around the answer. these are not the answers of a person who can be trusted to administer the powerful c.i.a. that question of trust goes to my second objection. the director of the c.i.a. will make many decisions that will be held in secret and never reviewed by the american people. it is critical that we trust her judgment and that we have complete confidence in her honesty and willingness to submit to congressional oversight. i do not have that confidence in ms. haspel, and here is why. as we now know from the public reports, between october and december of 2002, ms. haspel oversaw a c.i.a. prison in thailand. under her leadership, at least o

so the c.i.a. trained about ,000 or 2,000 cubans in doing am fib with us warfare landing on ships on the beach of what was called the bay of pigs and they were going to fight their way into cuba and they were going to set off a everyone, theyuse thought, hated castro. it was kind of a scheme to begin with. but they were trained in guatemala. they were given arms. the americans helped get them on ships and got them to cuba. the thing went wrong from the very beginning. the cubans saw what was happening very quickly responded very quickly. they sank a number of their ships. a mess. and then it was a terrible mbarrassment to president kennedy because it was obvious that americans had supported beginning. from the >> what would president eisenhower have done about the ietnam situation and would he have gotten us in as far as we -- 550,000 troops? well, we know what he did do. he kept the united states out of the french 954 as were collapsing in northern vietnam. their colonial war there was the french

some democrats tried to force the c.i.a. to declassify more about haspel's career but were not successful. for that, they say they will vote no. >> despite our repeated requests, she decided she would not allow the american people to know who she is and what has she done? this has been and again, painful to have to say this a stark failure of senate oversight. >> despite those criticisms, expect gina haspel to be confirmed soon. dana? >> dana: and mike, if i could just ask you one question. so senator rand paul could not be brought around on this. he did decide to vote for mike pompeo, the secretary of state. >> yeah, apparently, he found this was a bridge too far for him to go in terms of coming around. obviously, we will see what he decides. how he raises his hand on the senate floor in a matter of minutes. but everything we are hearing suggests that he is still a no. we'll see if he's had a change of heart. but the reason is intense pressure on him with those democrats coming around to vote yes this time around, dana. >>

we need proven leaders at the c.i.a. that is why president trump nominated gina haspel. >> dana: all right. chris, i wonder if you can talk about that. it's going right to where i think where the american people are. maybe i'm wrong. why we should not confirm this woman to the, to run the c.i.a. is a little bit confounding to most americans i think. and in these states, maybe i'm wrong, though. you tell me. would it behoove the democrats to vote against her? >> certainly the controversy here, dana, is that gina haspel, of course, part of the interrogation, the enhanced interrogation techniques after 9/11 that many have called torture including john mccain. mccain, of course, going to vote against gina haspel as is rand paul which is why the republicans find themselves in this situation where they need the separate democrats to get her over the line. and they are wisely looking at the conservative democrats in the states that donald trump won. they are spending a lot of money there as you pointed out with bret baier. nort

she will run the c.i.a. the c.i.a. won't run her. now, if almost any member of the senate, even members who've been on the intelligence committee for years went to the c.i.a., there would be a great likelihood that at least for a while the c.i.a. would run them, that the c.i.a. would say, well, here's something we have to do, here's something we used to do. here's a box that's always been checked before. and it takes a certain amount of time to determine why that may have been necessary. it will take her no time to determine what's necessary and what's not. she's nominated by the president that she has been briefing since her boss became the secretary of state. and part of the time while he was the director of the c.i.a., general hayden, one of virtually every past director of the c.i.a., democrat and republican appointees, have said she is someone who should be confirmed. general mike hayden in a quote that i particularly liked said that she was the person he would want in the room when the president was making a decision. she'd be

former c.i.a. director on face the nation this weekend michael hayden said this. >> gina haspel is the one woman i want in that room when everyone else will be going into north/south auto bob saying you're right, boss. gina haspel won't. she will be absolute -- >> melissa: does that sound like the woman you know? >> i agree totally with mike hayden on that. she will be a person more than eager and willing to speak truth to power. she is a person who will have the facts that we have available and she will be arguing for what we know and that's the job of the c.i.a. the job of the c.i.a. is not to make a lot of decisions about what we should do, it's to be sure the president and other decision makers know everything we know and she will know that and be able to convey that in a powerful and effective way. this is a great message to send to the men and women who do these tough jobs for us all over the world. >> melissa: she was a field officer. that says a lot. >> jon: why is north korea suddenly talk

i would never, ever take c.i.a. back to an interrogation program. i would not put c.i.a. officers at risk by asking them to undertake risky controversial activity again. >> she testified that her supervisor jose rodriguez who made the decision to destroy the videotape of the interrogation that included waterboarding and did this on his own authority. he did it without consulting the c.i.a. director at the time. and they did it because they were concerned that the c.i.a. officers were visible on the tapes and they could leak. i know from my own reporting that to this day, jose rodriguez has stood by that decision. haspel corrected a senior senator on the committee today dianne feinstein confirming that there are 92 or were 92 videotapes of the interrogations but they only applied to a single detainee. he was one of the senior al-qaeda operatives who was captured in the first wave of 9/11. he was the mastermind behind the uss cole attack. that is one of the seminole attacks before 9/11. republicans this morning made the argument that gina haspel was really being held to a d

i wouldn't allow c.i.a.ought was immoral even if it was technically level. >> do you believe the previous techniques armed with hindsight. were wrong? >> i support the higher moral standard we have decided to hold ourselves to. >> sandra: senate democrats getting tough with c.i.a. director nominee gina haspel over her role in enhanced interrogations following the 9/11 terror attacks. haspel coming under repeated fire despite vowing not to restart that program if she is confirmed. dr. james mitchell is the author of enhanced interrogation. he helped develop the c.i.a.'s enhanced interrogation program. he joins us now. thanks for being here this morning. if i could, sir, first to get you to weigh in on that exchange that you saw at her confirmation hearing yesterday. >> well, it seems like the questions are based on an alternate reality that i didn't experience. gina repeatedly said yesterday she did not run that program. i was an interrogator in that program during the most controversial time and i know who m

democrats accused the c.i.a.n senate investigators and expected to meet with heinrich and manchin. some say she is disqualified because of water boarding. >> in the entire history of the united states senate as far as we know the senate has never confirmed somebody with an operational role in the use of torture. that would be a first. a new low for the country if she gets confirmed. >> senator rand paul has come out against the nominee and told fox friday at this point they had no plans to meet before the hearing on wednesday. >> julie: catherine herridge, thank you. >> you're welcome. >> mike gibbons and others running in the race want to talk about being the outsider and say i'm the insider, they're the outsider. i'm a business guy and been in business and still a cpa and i bring my 30 years of business experience to washington i know that's what the president likes and i also know that's what the people like. >> bill: a congressman taking aim at my next guest at republicans try to flip a senate seat in ohio in

c.i.a.. >> her commitment to the agency is one of the reasons that she is the right person to lead it. she wants to do everything she can to make sure the integrity of the c.i.a. remains intact, isn't unnecessary attacked. >> julie: in the midst of all this breaking news on north korea and iran. democrats are trying to stone wall yet another confirmation hearing. former congressman jason chaffetz will be here to react. >> bill: president trump sending his endorsements for today's critical west virginia primary. his message is anyone but don blankenship. what is that all about? congressman evan jenkins is here live to make his case. >> julie: slow rolling disaster in paradise. hawaii's most active volcano carving out a path of destruction. we're live on the ground. >> other people lost their houses. some of our neighbors have lost theirs. right now we are okay. fight security threats 60 times faster with ai that sees threats coming. the ibm cloud. the cloud for smarter business. but prevagen

people that worked at the c.i.a. and led the c.i.a. supporting the acting director haskell.hief of staff under the c.i.a. called acting director haskell the rare person that both party it should love. with planning and preparations underway with the summit for north korea and secretary pompeo engaged from the state department, republicans and the democrats should come together and confirm gina haspel as the director of the c.i.a. and there was a bomb in afghanistan that claimed the lives of ten journalists. many journalists did their job at great risk every day. the united states stands in solidarity with the men and women who work for free and open societies. with that, i will take your questions. >> reporter: first, a quick question about iran. the video saying that iran would not renegotiate or add on to the jcpoa. how does it affect the president's thinking? >> sarah: we don't have announcements at this time. when the president has a final decision on what he will do with the jcpoa we'll let you know. >> reporter: sectly, can you explain why the president when he spoke,

there is a lot of good people at the c.i.a.o we have to have someone who really was an enthusiastic supporter of torture? >> jon: you're the only one -- >> john mccain and jeff flake. there are three republicans so far willing to stand up and say torture is wrong. >> jon: thank you for the correction. but my question is on another point there are a number of democrats who said they will vote for her. most democrats voting against her it would seem primarily want to do so because it blocks president trump. is that an appropriate use of a no vote? >> i don't think that's a fair analysis. i think they believe torture is wrong and waterboarding was wrong and when we snatched people up we snatched up a canadian engineer and sent to syria and tortured by assad. they finally released him after torturing him saying they had the wrong guy. he wasn't associated with terrorism at all. this happened 26 times out of 125. so i think it's important that in our country we presume innocence. even the worst among us. someone accused of murder we

porter: the c.i.a. director, interrogation program and is that something that the president would ever ask? ms. sanders: i'm not aware of any request by the president of he past c.i.a. director or who we hope to be. reporter: following up on the iranian announcement. the european answer are working hard top keep the deal alive. will the white house ensure that the european companies that trade with iran will not suffer the same sambingses? ms. sanders: but for the specifics. there is a wiped-down period for any period. porter: journal iferts are going to lose their credentials. sand sadged i'm taking your questions. a number of you have mentioned on air and off air that is one of the most acceptable white houses and committed to a free press and we demonstrate that very single day not only by me being up here and we will be in front of the press later tonight. >> taking american journal iferts advocating for a free press? mr. sarbanes: the fact that i'm taking dwess and the president took questions demo

the pick gina haspel to lead the c.i.a.ver the weekend she offered to withdraw her name from consideration. bad idea. she faced firestorm of criticism from the democrats and the main stream media because they are corrupt. but get this. she is criticized for being too tough on terrorists. hmm, i actually like people who are tough on terrorists. take a look. >> in 2002, she ran a secret c.i.a. prison for suspected terrorists in thailand that used harsh interrogation tactics including waterboarding, sleep depravation and even squeezing detainees into coffins. >> you have questions from the left and the right for her role on the enhanced interrogation techniques. she is going to have a tough hearing on wednesday. >> at this moment donald trump is effectively acting the u.s. senate to promotorture because trump wants someone who has tortured to run the c.i.a. gina haspel. >> sean: do you know at gitmo, you the taxpayers paid for a soccer field for those involved in engaging and killing americans. and we took care of every dietar

senators heard about her 30-plus years of c.i.a. experience spanning sensitive operations from the cold war to the global war on terror. that background makes ms. haspel an ideal pick at this particular moment, and secretary mattis has explained that counterterrorism and a renewed great power competition are two of the key challenges facing our nation. so it's no wonder, mr. president, james clapper, president obama's director of national intelligence, said, quote, i think the world of gina. she is capable, smart, very experienced, well respected by the agency rank and file, and a great concern. just yesterday, dan coats wrote in "usa today" she is a person of high integrity with valuable front-line and executive experience who is willing to speak truth to power when required on behalf of our nation. gina haspel is the right woman at the right time. her nomination has support from national security leaders and senators in both parties. there is no reason why her confirmation should be delayed, and i look forward to advancing it expe

we're ghosts. >> he plays a c.i.a.icer on a mission with his top-secret military unit. >> you feel calm in. >> not even a little. >> are you? >> i'm totally calm. >> that's because you're mentally unstable. >> i don't think i've ever been in better shape than "mile 22." i are just done "daddy's home ii" i go from eating whatever i want. drinking whatever i want. to like shutting it all down. exercising. >> man, mark's body is pretty unbelievable in that body. i think i'm going to do some push-ups. another star who got in the best shape he could, his antman suit did the rest. what's the best thing about wearing this suit? >> it makes you look -- cooler than maybe -- than you really are. >> it's tailored to me. >> and then enhanced in certain ways. >> does that increase your stock as a dad? you know what i mean, your cool factor? >> honestly, kraft services, can you get free twizzlers and candy and like, did you just take this? that's free. that's where i get like points. >> his first stint as antman made over half a mil

an investigation by the c.i.a. into the destruction of those tapes cleared haspel of any wrongdoing. haspel tackling that topic head-on in her prepared testimony. she said having served in that tumultuous time i can offer you my personal commitment clearly and without reservation, that under my leadership, c.i.a. will not restart such a detention and interrogation program. >> are you confident the white house has adequately preparing gina haspel for what she'll face tomorrow? >> having done a lot of testimony, i don't think you get adequately prepared. the best thing you can do to prepare for testimony like this is to have your facts straight and remain calm. >> former acting c.i.a. director john mclaughlin is one of many intents official who is call haspel perfect for the job because of her long career inside the agency. many details of her career are still classified. angering some senator who is say the c.i.a. is playing politics. >> the classification process is supposed to be based on national security. not on

look, gina haspel has been part of the c.i.a. since 1985, as long as i've been alive and on this earth. she's had the endorsement -- >> charlie, we feel old. [laughter] >> she also has support of every individual who served in the intelligence committee, former directors, deputy directors, as well, and i do think if democrats vote against her largely for political reasons, not like kennedy laid out and having real concerns and questions for her. it is political. we saw that play out with mike pompeo when democrats voted for him for c.i.a. director and didn't support him as secretary of state. come on. >> at least have the hearing. great point. it is on wednesday, we'll see what happens there. >> coming up on the show, final push by supporters and critics of the iran nuclear deal ahead of political dead let line coming this saturday. top diplomat is making official during a two-day stop in washington, plus amid the good vibes ahead of historic summit between president trump and the north korean dictator, rogue nation is lashing ou

c.i.a. when she learned that women could serve there doing clandestine work all around the world. she served in africa, in russia, in central europe, in asia, and she's held top jobs at the agency's headquarters. she understands every element of the work of america's intelligence community. since she is actually the acting head of the agency today, i think anyone would be hard-pressed to say that she's not up to the job because she is doing the job. she has the faith and the trust of the men and women in the field who keep us safe every day. let's not forget that she's also worked very closely with mike pompeo. he was head of the c.i.a. now he's secretary of state. having two people in these important jobs who already have a solid, respectful working relationship is extremely important for making sure that the united states foreign policy is air tight. no one else that the president could have nominated who would have been able to work as closely with secretary of state pompeo. she's an expe

have you or anyone else at the c.i.a. ever cooperated with any foreign intelligence service to collect information on candidate trump on his travels outside of the united states in the preceding five years? was candidate trump under any surveillance of interest to the c.i.a. during thinks previous visits to europe? joining brennan today is going to be the former director of national intelligence james clapper and the former director of the nsa admiral mike rogers. we expect to see them any minute. >> bill: thank you. if washington leaks, this will be certainly a meeting where there are leaks. another breaking news story developing this hour. the white house says it is still hopeful for a summit with north korea after pyongyang canceled the high-level talks with their partner in south korea. press secretary sarah sanders said this an hour ago saying she is still optimistic about this coming together. >> we're still hopeful the meeting will take place and we'll continue down that path. but at the same time we know these are

the employees at the c.i.a. nearly uniformly were achieving -- were aimed at achieving america's objectives. unquote. that's the president's own secretary of state, own former c.i.a. director dispensing with this notion of a deep state. now, the president says there were spies in his campaign. it's all in the same vein of his other conspiracy theories. remember? president trump said that obama tapped his phones. that was false. he said that -- he has said before that russia did not interfere in our elections. that was false. why should we think the claim that there was spies in his campaign is any different? he makes it up as he goes along to divert attention from the real issue, that russia tried to influence our elections, did influence our elections, and there may, may, may -- we don't know for sure but we've got to find out -- been collusion with members of president trump's campaign and even president trump in that regard. that's serious stuff. we've already had 13 indictments. it's beyond any doubt that ru

the c.i.a., found no fault with her actions, and any allegations she bore personal responsibility for destroying the videotapes has been affirmatively disproven. we know from a career timeline produced by the c.i.a. that miss haspel spoke french, spanish prior to joining the c.i.a. and learned turkish and russian. that's interesting because in fact we can't know a lot in a public setting some of her classified activities as a member of the central intelligence agency. that's the nature of the work that intelligence officers willingly accept the responsibility to keep it secret , classified information secret so as not to expose sources and methods that would endanger lives and undermine our ability to get intelligence to our policymakers so they can make good decisions. but clearly she is a student of languages and cultures around the world. exactly the kind of person you would want to lead an agency that operates internationally like the central intelligence agency. we know from declassified do

you mentioned the c.i.a. report. i have a piece. c.i.a. found kim doesn't plan to give up nukes anytime soon. he may open a western hamburger franchise in pyongyang and offer other limited american investment and there are no initial demands from the regime for the u.s. troops to withdraw from north korea. that may be true but we have such little information and i sight in north korea. we might have more given the last six months and the interaction that the administration is having with north korean officials today in new york city. >> north korea is a black hole. it's difficult for the intelligence community to do the collection they would do in other part of the world. we may have the signal intelligence and the photographickic intelligence, the key thing we need in there is human intelligence to know not only where things are and what the real capabilities are but to know the intentions of the north korean leadership. this is a difficult proposition. i think donald trump pyed his hand very, very well to get to us this point. st sitting

david brooks and ruth marcus discuss president trump's controversial c.i.a. pick,pe gina h and how the president's economic message is playing in a city stillm recovering fe great recession. all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving ourconomy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us.

we learned that former defense secretary and c.i.a. director leon panetta and former director of national intelligence james clapper, both former obama officials, unequivocally support ms. haspel. we've heard from michael hayden, john brennan, both former c.i.a. directors, both who criticized president trump for other matters but praise this pick to head the agency. and we read about this nominee, too, as "the wall street journal" board recently penned its support writing that the people misrepresenting the c.i.a. nominee were in the cheap seats during the worst days of the war on terror. ms. haspel did not have that luxury. and i couldn't agree more with that characterization. yet some of our colleagues systemly refuse to listen and, in fact, we've been seeing the same pattern play out throughout the trump presidency. people playing politics and obstructing the nominees of the president simply because they disagree with the president, not because of the qualifications of the nominees. and, sadly, we've seen character assassination aga

i would never permit c.i.a. to resume an interrogation program. >> stephen: okay, she's not going to restart. she's not going to redo it, because they never stopped doing it. and, like me, some senators were not convinced that haspel's torturing days were behind her. >> if the c.i.a. has a high- value terrorism suspect in its custody and the president gave you a direct order to waterboard that suspect, what would you do? >> senator, i would advise-- i do not believe the president would ask me to do that. ( laughter ) >> stephen: you don't believe the president would do that? i'm so sorry. when did they restore your hearing and sight? ( laughter ) you must be deaf and blind, because the president goes and talks on the tv now. jimmy? >> they then came to me, "what do you think of waterboarding?" i said, "it's fine." and if we want to go stronger, i'd go stronger, too. we should go for waterboarding and we should go tougher than waterboard. >> stephen: yeah, i think he'd go for fire-boarding. we've got a great show