what is gina haspel's? being ca.nated for >> if one of your operatives work capture, subjected to waterboarding, enhanced interrogation techniques which i believe you supervised, would you consider that to be moral since perhaps the other entity did not have legal restrictions and good tradecraft, as you -- ared to do when >> senator, i do not believe the terrorists follow any guidelines or civilized norms or the law. cia follows the law. thatu seem to be sayi you were not following civilized norms in the law or anything else when you're conducting those activities will step if that is the analogy you are going to draw. >> i'm sorry, can you -- >> it is very simple. you're an operations officer captured. he is being waterboarded. i have asked recently, would you determine that to be immoral and something that should never be done, condoned in any way shape or form? your response seems to be that civilized nations don't do it, but uncivilized nations do it. or uncivilized groups do it. a civilized nation was

which is requests i will be voting to confirm -- which is why i will be voting to confirm gina haspel. secretary pompeo left the agency in good shape. few people have contributed to the c.i.a.'s most recent successes as ms. haspel. she has 33 years of experience working for the agency, serving first on the front lines of the cold war and later on the front lines of the war on terror. if confirmed, she would also be the first woman to lead the agency. and given her many accomplishments, her diligence and dedication and her fierce love of country, i'm astonished and disappointed at the controversy over the nomination of this great american. after all, ms. haspel is a career professional whose record of achievement speaks for itself. she joined the agency in 1985, working as a case officer for several years in both africa and europe. over time she rose up the ranks serving first as chief of staff and then as a deputy director of the directorate of operations. she served as chief of station, the officer responsible for overseeing all of the c.i.a.'s work in a foreign country, four differe

it is clear to most members if not all members that gina haspel is the most qualified individual that i have seen in the 24 years that i have served in congress. she brings a component of the operations of the cia over 30 years. she has served in numerous capacities. she has received many recognitions and awards as a cia officer. the one thing that she brings to the table though issue brings a tremendous trust by the employees of the cia. she brings a great leadership skill that is displayed today as the deputy director. i know that some have requested documents that deal with covert action being made public and declassified. that has never happened in the history of the cia and it's not going to happen with gina haspel's nomination but we have declassified an unprecedented amount of information for members-only. they will have an opportunity to review that but we will process her in as timely a fashion as we can once we complete the hearing tomorrow. we look forward to putting her in as a permanent director of the central intelligence agency. >> let me just add to chairman burr's lea

what do you think about gina haspel? caller: well, i feel that, yes, she is a wall find candidate for sure, for sure. but the partisan lines that this is falling on has really nothing to do with her job. 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'r

but not gina haspel. it was happening right before her eyes and she did nothing to stop it. while her thcolleagues question the legitimacy of the cia program according to public reports, ms. haspel vigorously defended it. according to the same reports, the trump white house reviewed cia message logs that quote - made it clear just how accepting she had been of sins disavowed iointerrogation techniques. the fact is, so far as the record indicates, the only action ms. haspel has taken with regard to us torture practices has been to do her best to cover it up. why relitigate the choices that were made during those days after 9/11? because this matter. especially with a president like donald trump. as a candidate, donald trump said he was quote - bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding. because even quote - if it doesn't work, they deserve it anyway. and as president, donald trump pulled back from his plan to reinstate the use of secret cia prisons overseas only after overwhelming bipartisan outreach. the stakes are high. the use of torture is one of the darkest chapt

you deserve gina haspel. i ask this body this afternoon when the senate reconvenes that we confirm gina haspel as director of the central intelligence agency without further delay. i thank the president. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cruz: madam president, i have five requests for committees to meet today during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and the minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. cruz: madam president, i rise today to give thanks and celebration for the united states' embassy established in the city of jerusalem and for the continued safety and security of the jewish people in israel and across the world. almost exactly 70 years ago, israel's founding father, david bengerrian, brought toge

hi, gina haspel, who solemnly swear/ gina: i, gina haspel, do solemnly swear, that i will support andend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that i will bear true faith and allegiance to the state, that i take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation, or purpose of evasion, and i will compel and faithfully discharge, the duties of the office on which i am about to enter, so help me god. [cheers and applause] gina: good morning, everyone. and thank you, mr. vice president, for administering the oath. let me begin by thanking president trump for joining us and offering those kind words. mr. president, it means a great deal to me and the agency that you made time to come out to langley for this ceremony. [applause] gina: you have placed enormous trust in the cia throughout your presidency and the men and women of the cia do not take that for granted. thank you, mr. president, for your confidence in me and your steadfast support of our mission and people. i am truly honored to have this opportunity to lead the best workforce in go

gina haspel has spent 33 years at the cia. she has a decorated career and has a sacrifice for this country in many ways that americans will never know. i have ano doubt that her current and former colleagues will praise her as a patriot and they are sincere. patriotism and judgment are not the same thing. and someone quits protecting the agency above following the law, cannot be trusted. when announcing his opposition to gina haspel his nomination, senator mccain recently said quote - the method we employed 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. i agree. with senator mccain. and i urge my colleagues to reject nsher nomination. >> mr. president, as the senate moves to vote on the nomination to head the cia, here is the bottom line. while the caamerican people hav been told that gina haspel, like johnny cash and mother teresa, ms. haspel has been exercising the unprecedented power to personally censor any facts ctabout her that might ge in the way of her

gina haspel is an example of that. i think the fact that she, according to the reports, gave thoughts of stepping back from the process is reflective of her humility and her desire to ensure that the c.i.a. is not a political football. to ensure that the c.i.a. can have an effective leader. so i think it's a shame we are going through the process and it's shameful she is having to endure the process. i'm hopeful enough sensors will come to the senses to recognize -- enough senators will come to senses to recognize an asset she will be. your clip showed the director of the c.i.a. and the n.s.a., she is a person all about the facts and data. that is the advice we want the president to get. >> harris: the president says that she is tough on terror and that it is disingenuous -- i'm paraphrasing now -- for the democrats to push against that. does gina haspel get confirmed on wednesday? >> i think she ultimately does. i am confident she gets the confirmation but it's a shame she has to go through the process to get there wh

office. >> ladies and gentlemen, please trump, mikeld pence, secretary of state mike ginao and gina haspel -- haspel and the head of the chief intelligence agency. [applause] >> good morning, please be seated. mr. president, mr. vice president, distinguished and honored guests, welcome to the headquarters of the central intelligence agency. thank you to the many guests here today here to join a historic swearing-in ceremony. to begin the ceremony, please stand with me as we sing the national anthem and please remain standing. ♪ o say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight o'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming and the rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there o say does that star-spangled banner yet wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave ♪] [applause] >> i invite you to join with me in prayer. let us pray. gracious god, we ask that you bless this ceremony, and through it the

first on gina haspel. it true the president and yourself and others had to sort of convince her not to withdraw her name from consideration? and if show, what was that like? has the circumstance happened before since you have been at your position at the white house? a follow about don blankenship. why does the president believe he can't win an election in the state of west virginia? >> let me answer the question first. in regard to acting director haspel, her commitment to the agency is one of the reasons 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 in intact, isn't unnecessarily attacked. and if she felt that her nomination would have been a problem for that and for the agency, then she wanted to do everything she could to protect the agency. at the same time she wants to do everything to protect the safety and the security of americans, which is why she is 100% committed to going through this confirmation process. and being confi

a note of confidence and really reiterating that she and this president have full confidence in gina haspel. in fact, the president tweeting himself earlier today that haspel should continue to fight and win. so that's a message that we heard sanders echo from the podium. in terms of what we're expected to hear on the iran nuclear deal, she was pressed about that as well. not tipping the president's hand, but of course we've watched him, listened to him talk about this issue. of course when he was meeting with the president of france, as well as the chancellor of germany, indicating that he is moving toward potentially pulling out. will that be the case? we'll have to wait and see. because he also expressed a willing in es to get a tougher deal done. so a lot of anticipation as we try to drill down on exactly what we'll hear from the president tomorrow. >> let he a put gina haspel on ice for a moment and get into the iran deal because we have ian bremer here and there are few people better to talk about this. if the president decides to pull out -- and it certainly looks like that -- what i

as the senator just said, gina haspel has been with the cia since 1985. she has served under six presidents and senator cotton argues in many democrats as well she is eminently qualified. she would be the first woman to run the central intelligence agency, a post held by 24 men including george h.w. bush, john foster dulles and bob gates. so take a look at some of the questioning today. >> the cia selectively declassified only small pieces of information to bolster your nomination. while keeping damaging information under wraps. >> what i believe sitting here today is that i support the higher moral standard we have decided to hold ourselves to. >> would you please answer the question? >> i think i've answer the question. >> know you have not. >> martha: that in the same week as we heard this from former first lady michelle obama. >> if we as women are still suspicious of one another -- if we still have this crazy, crazy bar for each other that we don't have four men, if we are still doing that today, if we are more comfortable -- if we are not comfortabl

what do you think is going to be the root for gina haspel?o you think she can survive this kind of questioning right now? >> she shouldn't. as we know senator mccain last night came out against this nomination. i think when the senators reflect on that position and the moral authority that senator mccain brings to this question, i think any of them who might be tempted to vote for her might reconsider that position. >> so let's us just read what he actually did say. i believe that gina haspel is a patriot who loves our country and has devoted her professional life to its service and defense. however, her role in overseeing the use of torture is disturbing and her refusal to acknowledge torture's immorality is disqualifying. of course referring to that clip that we just played. but i want to ask you this. does it strike you in her favor that according to all the testimony by the cia and all the officials who have been rolled out now to promote her and speak about her, they say that it was even worse at this particular site before she got there

get to first what has happened at the top of the hour since we are now at the bottom and that's gina haspelt's your thought about the back and forth right now that's happening, appears to be with those in the white house, in conversations that gina has been having with cia? >> i think this is very interesting. i'm most concerned about the leaks that come out of the white house, why are we hearing about this in the press. this is something that should be between the white house and gina haspel. now having said that, i think she's been very clear on her position that if she had to do it over again and if we were in a future situation in the war on terror, that she would not support the waterboarding measures that she initially supported in her career. and i think that has satisfied a lot of people who had some questions about her confirmation, democrats and republicans alike. so i think she satisfied these concerns. i'm not sure why this discussion keeps lingering here. but i am most concerned about the leak coming out of the white house and who is doing that. >> it appears at least based on

gina haspel is facing mounting criticism over her role e in t u.s.orture pgrgram uer george w. bu. haspel ran cia bla s site thailand at e e timet least one prison w was werboboard. heronfirmatn hearing set fo wednesesday would mark the first time she might ever speak publicly about her role in the torture program. in west virginia, polls show the formerly imprisoned coal baron don blankenship is surging in popularity ahead of tuesday's republican senate primary. blankenship is the former ceo of massey energy. he served a year in prison after 29 miners died in the 2010 upper big branch mine disaster. last week blankenship released an ad attacking senate majority leader mitch mcconnell and his "china family." mcconnell, who has opposed blankenship's run, is married to secretary of transportation elaine chao. >> i am todd blankenship and i approve this message. mitch mcconnell has created millions of jobs for china people. while doing so, mitch has gotten rich. his china family has given them tens of millions of dollars. i just want people are now running false negative ads against me

he supports gina haspel nomination. what do you make of the democrats deciding to hold her up and run over the well-trod ground over and over? >> it's amazing how quickly we forget in the case of john brennan. she is a fantastic pick. i think she had to address these issues about enhanced interrogation. i still believe enhanced interrogation should be a tool in the arsenal in extreme circumstances. but she made it clear she doesn't believe the c.i.a. should be in that business. that is in the d.o.d. there is really no guiltless parties in this whole issue. after 9/11 we had planes hit the world trade center. we didn't know what was next. so at that point it's like what do we do to protect americans? i remember rumors of dirty bombs and everything. in those circumstances we have to do everything we can to protect the country. >> dana: i want your take on this because you did fight in iraq and afghanistan. khalid sheikh mohammed, the mastermind of 9/11, he had the gall to suggest he should be allowed to come to the hearin

nominee gina haspel on the hot seat. at her confirmation hearing before the senate intelligence committee. the focus is her connection to ten chanced interrogation program after 9/11. here she is defending herself and the agency. >> after 9/11, i didn't look to go sit on the swiss desk. i stepped up. i was not on the sideline. i was on the front line in cold war and i was on the front line in the fight against al-qaeda. i'm very proud of the fact we captured the perpetrator of 9/11 khalid sheikh mohammed. we did extraordinary work. to me the tragedy is the controversy surrounding interrogation program, which as i have already indicated to senator warner, i fully understand that but it has cast a shadow over what is a major contribution to protecting this country. >> harris: chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge is live for us in washington. >> thank you, harris. good afternoon. gina haspel testified for nearly three hours in this open session before the senate intelligence committee. this is way out of her

in gina haspel, that is exactly what you are getting. congratulations again.now you will thrive as the agency's director, and help keep our nation safe and strong and proud and free. good luck, god bless you, and god bless the men and women of the cia. god bless america. i want to thank everyone in this room for doing such an incredible job and giving gina that unbelievable support she needed. it took courage for her to say yes, in the face of a lot of very negative politics, and what was supposed to be a negative vote. i will tell you, when you testified before the committee, it was over. there was not much they could say. there was no one more qualified than you and you are going to do a fantastic job. thank you very much. [cheers and applause] with that, i would like to ask our great vice president to administer the oath of office. thank you all very much. thank you. [applause] vice-president prence: raise your right hand and repeat after me. gina: i, gina haspel, do solemnly swear, that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states agains

on several of those stops we visited with gina haspel. never were we less than significantly impressed by the leadership that gina was giving to the agency. every member here knows the mission of the cia but i'd just like to say that the general public, the written stated mission at the cia which is to preempt threats and further u.s. national security objectives by collecting intelligence that matte matters, producing objective all source analysis, conducting effective covert action as directed by the president and safeguarding the secrets that help keep our nation safe. no one is better prepared, more focused or more capable to carry out that mission than is gina haspel. mr. chairman, gina is a proven leader who knows the agency and the threats we face. she is ideally suited to become the next and first female director of the cia. everybody on this committee has an obligation to vet her nomination thoroughly and i know you will. but at the end of the day i urge you to support her nomination and send it to the floor so that her nomination

gina haspel. congratulations on your nomination. n conducting this hearing is to enable the committee to begin consideration of ms. haspel's qualification and to allow for thoughtful deliberation by all members. she's already provided substantive written responses to more than 100 questions presented by the committee and its members. today, of course, members will be able to ask additional questions and to hear from ms. haspel in open and closed session. gina, you've been asked to lead what i believe is one of our most treasured assets in this nation during a period of profound change. the central intelligence agency is one of the principled members of the united states intelligence community and its tasked with collecting foreign intelligence through human sources and by appropriate other means. the cia operates in the shadows. it's officers are often undercover and sometimes work in hostile and aus tear environments. it's not simply a job for many but it's a lifestyle. one that you have lived hon raably for more than 30 years. the

gina haspel won't. >> kimberly: coming out in strong support of gina haspel saying this is the exacterson you want in the room and making the decisions in these tough times, dealing with terror. >> greg: i would call that a backhanded compliment. we need to have her because the president is crazy is basically what he said. i wonder, what do the democrats want? they never want an adult. who do they want? dr. phil. apparently they don't think a woman who can do the job. if they can do that to republicans, republicans can do that back. this is a byproduct of team sport politics. the other team cannot make it easy for your nominations to get through. it has nothing to do with qualifications, expertise or talent. they have to do it because you are not on the same team. the other thing, the long-term consequences of stuff like this, you will be punished in the future for the brave choices you make in the past. how will it influence present-day patriots when they have to do with really, really tough choices in terms of people being threatened or it could be an impending attack and you have

gina haspel to lead the c.i.a. ng amid reports haspel offered to withdraw her nomination over concerns about her past role in the agency's interrogation program. michael waltz is former counter terrorism advisor. first of all, haspel serves as the deputy director for the c.i.a. spent 33 years in the agency. most under cover. she has earned her stripes. why would congress be opposed to her role in interrogation program techniques that were set up after the 9/11 attacks? >> well, julie, this is politics at its absolute worst with democrats in congress going after a career c.i.a. veteran, the first case officer in five decades to be nominated to lead the agency. someone who has been on the front lines of the war on terror her entire career, held senior positions which will mean minimal transition of this critical agency right now and importantly going back obama -- president obama's then attorney general holder appointed oh special prosecutor to look into the torture issue. she was completely cleared. his deputy direct

gina haspel. gina, congratulations.qualified for this extraordinary office than you. by the way if you don't agree with that, please let me know now before it is too late. immediately. have to do it quickly. you live in the cia, you live the cia, you breathe the cia. and now you will lead the cia. congratulations. [ applause ] okay. that means we're keeping her, right? that was -- that's what we're waiting for. they love you. they respect you. they respect you too. a native of ashland, kentucky, gina's 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 cia. throughout her storied career, this agency, gina has truly done it all. she's 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're going to

i am disappointed in gina haspel. i think she didn't answer a straight question and she owes us an answer to the straight question do you think it's immoral. she dodged it completely. but you are absolutely right. do the obama administration soft pedal this issue? we are seeing scrutiny of gina haspel. i think you're wrong about what dilemma democrats are facing. the irony here is the democrats like the fact that gina haspel is not an ideologue. she's a professional. she's not somebody who's conveyancing i want to advance the republican agenda. she is single from i just want to advance the american agenda. democrats like that about her a lot more than they like many of terms political appointees. but the downside is that if you want that, you've got to embrace somebody who seems to have embraced torture, which democrats aren't -- >> laura: she didn't design the program. >> well, laura. i have to throw the challenge flag. >> laura: jeff is coming in on us with the challenge flag. >> i've got to throw that challenge fla

also opposition to gina haspel. he was tortured when he was a pow when he was in vietnam. he doesn't want to support gina

during her senate confirmation hearing, gina haspel made this pledge. ms. haspel: i would never take cia back to an interrogation program. first of all, cia follows the law. we followed the oww then, we fohe law today. i support the law. i wouldn't support a change in the law. but i will tell you thispu- i would nocia officers at risk by asking them to undertake risky, controversial activity again. laura: for more on gina spel's hearing, i spoke earlier with evan mcmullin, a former ciafi r who ran as an independent in the 2016 presidential election. evan mcmullin, gina haspel has promised she would never resume the post-9/11 harsh interrogation progra as a former cia officer, what is your reaction to that? evan: i'm glad that is what she said. i think that was the right thing to say. i think she means it. i don'know gina personally, but i know others who do, and i expected her to make heartfelt statements about the program during the hearing, and i think she did. i think most of the cia workforce is aligned with that, too. it is a tough time in our history.

talking about this is more about donald trump than gina haspel. even to the republicans involved in this, salute to senator mccain, he encouraged me back in the day to run for senate, which i did. maybe i should be mad at him for that. but i have the highest respect for him. i think he's letting his annamous bleed over. f he has a strong dislike for president trump. i'm afraid he's so respected, out of respect to him other republican senators may accede to his wish, that this nominee of president trump not get confirmed. i think it's a mistake, i hope he will change his mind about it and i hope his colleagues will recognize. she's professional. you got a great group of people, you want somebody how to best use them. we heard today she's going to respect the law. >> laura: we could have an hour conversation about this and so many other intel topics. we appreciate it. after all this time, we may have evidence of collusion between trump and the russians? no. between mueller and comey. we'll explain in moments. stay there. 100% clear skin wi. up to 90

the aclu has been opposed to gina haspel's nomination.rmance today assuage any of your objections? >> no. we learned nothing about her through this nomination hearing. we knew exactly two things about her heading into today's nomination hearing. thing one, if you will, was that she participated and supervised torture and participated in that criminal conduct. in one case, overseeing detention site green, a black site in thailand in which a detainee was slammed against the wall, waterboarded, stripped naked and blocked in a coffin-sized box. that was thing one. thing two we knew about her is she destroyed everyday about torture many years later. on both of those account, we have gotten no transparency and no further information from this nominee. she has been evasive and stonewalled on that. and i think it's an embarrassment for the senate to consider voting on a nominee when you don't have this basic level and knowledge of information about only two things we know about her. >> i will say jon tester, who is a democratic senator who is in

gina haspel was the key to that.she is so well respected and well-liked and speaks volumes when you have people like john brennan, who -- i view as a partisan intelligence director under barack obama. you have people like mike hayden, leon panetta singing her praises because they've worked with her. i would think it would matter to the democrats on the panel. we'll see if it does. >> bill: james clapper, too. we see her now in the building. the woman of the hour certainly and will be for the next several hours. that hearing gets underway there. with regard to the black sites she apparently was associated with or operated one in thailand and there is a question as to whether or not some 90 some odd videos were then taken of the interrogation itself and later destroyed. apparently that decision was made above her but she was the one who executed that decision. i don't see that ultimately based on what i read, steve, of getting in the way of her confirmation, do you? >> i think we'll have senators like ron wyden from or

yesterday our colleagues on the intelligence committee heard from gina haspel, president trump's selection to head the central intelligence agency. she showcased the poise and judgment of a 33-year career with the agency. our testimony confirmed what her gold standard resume and her support from seasoned security leaders had already told us. gina haspel has the experience, talent and unique skill set to excel in this important job at this important moment. since 1985 she served the nation in clandestine operations around the globe. true to the best traditions of intelligence, many have rawded conscious lauded her. her nomination carries the full-throated endorsement of the most respected national security leaders. today, more than ever, the value of her insights and experiences cannot be understated. her career encompassed the cold war and ongoing global war on terror. in a moment when our national security demands excellencecy in each of these areas, great power competition, and counterterrorism alike, ms. haspel stands uniquely ready to assume the responsibilities of c.i.a. leader as the

who has urged his colleagues against confirming gina haspel. she testified early this week before the senate intelligence committee. it democrat joe manchin got on board with his support but republicans have said they need more democratic support. right now, california democrat dianne feinstein who authored the senate's comprehensive review of cia interrogation practices is going to vote no. >> i am not going to vote for her. i don't believe we are a signatory to the convention against torture as well as under international agreements. and i don't believe the head of this large intelligence agency should be someone that condoned and practiced in that great dark period. >> trish: this one going to be a squeaker. >> tom: this is going to extra innings. we knew right now when his nomination was keyed up that it was going to play out this way that democrats would view this as an opportunity to replay all of the debate over enhance interrogation. i think she has a road to victory and it is a narrow road but she struck the right tone when she testifi

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. north dakota, alabama and missouri targeting these folks. i think the senat

gina won't. >> haspel faces a confirmation hearings on wednesday. the nomination would be in jeopardy if she loses support from republicans. >>> the top democrat on the house intelligence committee says critical comments from the federal judge do not signal the special counsel's case is in jeopardy against paul manafort. the real motivation is to oust president trump. judge ellis remarking in the time honored practice of prosecutors with which i'm familiar with, you can tighten the screws and provide information in what are you interested in. that -- what you are interested in. that is pei appears what is hap here. >> it is the scope of what bob mueller is doing. he is well within the scope of the jurisdiction and charging manafort and flynn and the others. it is within the judge's prerogative, i don't think it is bearing on the legal issues. i think bob mueller will prevail going forward in the litigation. there is no legal question about that. it is concerning that the judge would express this opinion. >> manafort asked the judge to review the mue

i'm inclined to support gina haspel and i'm also a woman.s doing a lot is saying if you're a woman, you must support liberal or you must support xyz. we try not to do that and that's exactly what she was doing. but it's also just flawed. there is nothing hypocritical with caring about women's empowerment, caring about national security and asking tough questions of a woman who would take on a very high position. in fact, at worst it's maybe partisan, at best it's actually quite principled. then the idea that you must -- to support women's empowerment, you have to support every woman and every policy position she has is just absurd. i agree that gina haspel is the most qualified person for this position. i wish sara sanders hadn't brought up the fact that she's a woman to prove it. >> yeah, i think it's incredibly condescending, wolf. she stands or falls on her merits. she's very, very qualified but some democrats and republicans, notably john mccain, are worried she wouldn't say torture is immoral. i think the notion that feminism requires s

gina haspel has just been sworn in as the official director of the cia. haspel faced stark opposition from members of both parties. they objected to her role of supervising a secret cia black site in thailand, which was known to practice so-called enhanced interrogation techniques, like waterboarding. critics would call that behavior torture. with me now, peter alexander, life at t live at the white house, and evan mcmullin, a former policy director for the house of conference. peter, how big of a win is this for the white house? i mean, they were going to put a republican in that position. >> reporter: yeah. the president framed this as big. specifically, the fact that this is the first female director of the cia. he showered dpee thgina haspel praised. saying she's not just loved but respected. he was speaking to the points of things he obviously most appreciates. he said she'll never back down in the face of america's enemies. what was particularly striking is, as we saw the president not just praise haspel, but also the rank and file members of the int

michelle kosinski has the details. >> reporter: for a long time, in fact ever since gina haspel has been nominated to be the first woman to head up the cia, there have been these serious questions about her more than 30-year tenure there. her support for u.s. torture programs after 9/11, the fact that she headed up a secret u.s. detention camp in thailand, that somebody was waterboarded there under her watch. but now leading up to her nomination hearing on wednesday, the white house has been getting plenty of questions from lawmakers wanting more clarity. the debate has been growing. and it got to the point on friday we now know that the white house had significant concerns, and has spell herself had enough concerns about this hearing that she offered to withdraw her nomination. we know that she met with people in the white house on friday. we also know she participated in this practice session known as a murder board where you go over all of these tough questions that she will absolutely face on wednesday. and that reached the point where she said, you know, she would be willing to step

the democrat said he will vote for gina haspel.did senator heidi heitkamp the democrat of north korea. two democrats, which makes a total of four democrats who they will confirm gina haspel and that should do it. our chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge is live in washington. catherine? >> well, shep, you are right. really everything was all changed in the last hour with confirmation that two more senate democrats are going to back the nomination of gina haspel. it's been really a fast moving target all day as you mentioned. we have senator mark warner. he is the senior democrat on the senate intelligence committee. heidi heitkamp also. senators manchin and also senator donnelly as well say they will now support her. all of this sort of came together after gina haspel took the unusual step of sending that letter to mark warner where, in the past you have heard directors say or nominees say that they would never restart the program what was different today is gina haspel said it never should have happened in the first

gina haspel?uest: gina haspel is a career intelligence officer with a background in field intelligence. she spent the majority of her career in the foreign field, collecting information. i do want to take the opportunity to provide context and background on gina, because one of the backgrounds -- because one of the challenges we have is that an officer who spent their entire career overseas, we don't have context to describe their job and how they do it so i would like to provide clarity on that today. host: let's do that. explain what you think she is a good choice? guest: having someone with experience in the intelligence process, that will be useful. for the intelligence community but for policymakers and the american people. is thathe challenges intelligence collection is a specialty. get expertise and a lot of people don't understand how that works and what are the components to that. in that will be an advantage for policymakers. that they can rely on her the tremendous intelligence challeng

gina haspel was facing steep odds.d win over six democrats who voted for her despite the fact there were a lot of questions about her role in the enhanced interrogation program. and she did have broad support for members within the cia. >> yeah. >> so i think that you are going to expect most of his remarks to focus on that, to be touting gina las pell, but i wouldn't be surprised if he made an indrekt reference to everything that we're talking about here. >> fair pont. thank you. we stwheent you what's happening on the other side of your screen. president is there ready for the ceremony. i believe the national anthem will be sung, there's secretary pompeo next to gina haspel as well which means we'll be seeing the president. just this morning he addressed the iran nuclear deal. this swh gina haspel is sworn in when there are real questions about north korea, the president getting cold feet when it comes to this summit. he's got a lot of questions about how this moves forward. >> absolutely. and he should. and he shoul

up next senator rand paul as to why he is still opposed to gina haspel.our heart doesn't only belong to you. so if you have heart failure, ask your doctor about entresto. it helped keep people alive and out of the hospital. don't take entresto if pregnant. it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. entresto, for heart failure. i'm your phone,istle text alert. stuck down here between your seat and your console, playing a little hide-n-seek. cold... warmer... warmer... ah boiling. jackpot. and if you've got cut-rate car insurance, you could be picking up these charges yourself. so get allstate, where agents help keep you protected from mayhem... ...like me. mayhem is everywhere. are you in good hands? >> jon: this fox news alert on a major development for president trump's national security team. the full senate likely to vote today to confirm c.

gina haspel becoming the first cia director who also a woman.e will have the final vote coming. >>> today also brings us into year two of robert mueller's special counsel probe. the question from everyone, including the president is where does this go next? will the president be stated? could he be? would he ultimately talk to robert mueller? if he doesn't will he face a grand jury subpoena. no surprise the president tweeted his disgust already today. also worth remembering so far 19 people and three russian companies have either been indicted or pled guilty to criminal charges, including four people who worked for team trump. the investigation has also helped reveal information we may never have known like that payment to stormy daniels and potentially other women as well. we heard about that today. what exactly happened at the trump tower meeting and just how deeply involved the russians were in wanting president trump in the white house. to talk more about all of it i'm joined by jennifer ruben, who is also on msnbc contrbor and wrote recentl

president trump's nominee for cia director gina haspel appears to have won enough backing to be confirmed by the full senate after haspel came out saying the cia should never have undertaken its post-9/11 torture program. the senate intelligence committee is scheduled to vote today on whether to recommend at thes for confirmation full senate. among the democrats who have come out backing haspel's .irginia senator mark warner at her confirmation hearing last repeatedly refused to call the treatment of prisoners torture and declined to state whether she believes torture is immoral. but in a letter to the virginia senator, she admitted the cia torture program never should have existed in the first place writing "while i won't condemn those that made these hard calls and i have noted the valuable intelligence collected, the program ultimately did damage to our officers and our standing in the world with the benefit of hindsight and my experience as a senior agency leader, the enhanced interrogation program is not one the cia should have undertaken." haspel is a 33 year cia veteran responsible