A Green Beret who supports embattled CIA nominee Gina Haspel had his pals subject him to waterboarding for nearly 45 minutes and livestreamed it in a bid to prove the notorious interrogation technique is not torture.
"Plain and simple. It’s not torture," special forces soldier Tim Kennedy said in a tweet which was accompanied by a video of him lying on a table with a towel over his face and being drenched with a garden hose."
"I just want everybody to understand what waterboarding is an opportunity for us to get information, useful information, out of somebody that we’re questioning," said Kennedy, 38, as he prepared to be doused. "There’s no permanent damage and it’s just the fear of water that scares people."
Haspel, who was nominated by President Donald Trump, has been under fire for her participation in an interrogation program where the controversial technique was used.
"The reason we are doing this ... is for us to have a conversation. Right now, an amazing hero has been appointed to be director of the CIA and because of that, some of the things she has done are being attacked," Kennedy said as he prepared his demonstration.
"If I can change one person’s mind about what torture is and what I would do to protect American freedom, I will do this for years."
The former mixed martial arts fighter admitted waterboarding does make a person feel unable to breathe.
"You can’t hold your breath while they do it because the water runs down your sinuses. The water run through your eyes, down your nose, and pools at the back of your throat," Kennedy said on Facebook.
But, he added: "It was a baptism in freedom. It’s not torture! Hell we had elk tacos and wine afterwards. Wake up people."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.