During his campaign last year, Trump repeatedly said he would bring back waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics that the CIA has abandoned, that President Obama labeled torture, and that now are illegal. In a 2½-hour hearing, Pompeo repeatedly assured members of the Senate Intelligence Committee that he would not restart the CIA’s use of secret prisons and brutal interrogation tactics. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), ranking Democrat on the committee, pressed Pompeo to pledge he would not do so even if ordered by Trump. The hearing was interrupted shortly after it began when the hearing room lights suddenly went out. Pompeo said he hasn’t seen evidence that Trump’s mocking and insults in recent weeks had hurt morale at the CIA.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 12, 2017 11:02 UTC