Even from afar, McCain raises his voice against torture
WASHINGTON — As Senate consideration of Gina Haspel to head the CIA quickly turned into a debate over torture, one voice weighed in from afar.
Republican Sen. John McCain, a Navy pilot who was beaten in captivity during the Vietnam War, was watching from home in Arizona where he is battling brain cancer. He urged the Senate to reject the nominee.
McCain is not expected to return to Washington for the vote, and he may not be able to sway his colleagues to stop her confirmation. Still, the senator who has defined his political career by going against the grain of party norms is doing it again in what may be his last battle in a decades-long fight against torture.
“I believe Gina Haspel is a patriot who loves our country and has devoted her professional life to its service and defence,” he said in a statement late Wednesday night. “However, Ms. Haspel’s role in overseeing the use of torture by Americans is disturbing. Her refusal to acknowledge torture’s immorality is disqualifying.”