ProPublica has issued a correction on a 2017 story and now says Gina Haspel, President Donald Trump's pick for CIA director, did not oversee the waterboarding of a suspected al-Qaida leader.
The story had said Haspel had been responsible for a clandestine base in Thailand in 2002 where Abu Zubaydah was imprisoned by the CIA. It said he was subjected to waterboarding and other interrogation methods now viewed as torture. The story had also claimed Haspel mocked his suffering.
But ProPublica has retracted the story.
"It is now clear that Haspel did not take charge of the base until after the interrogation of Zubaydah ended," ProPublica said.
ProPublica acknowledged some critics of her nomination to lead the CIA have cited the original story as a key reason why she should not run the agency.
"This error was particularly unfortunate because it muddied an important national debate about Haspel and the CIA's recent history," said Stephen Engelberg, editor-in-chief. "To her, and to our readers, we can only apologize, correct the record and make certain that we do better in the future."
But ProPublica said the original story did accurately report that Haspel later pushed to destroy the tape of Zubaydah's waterboard.
Dean Boyd, director of the CIA's office of public affairs, praised Haspel's 30 years of public service
"It is important to note that she has spent nearly her entire CIA career undercover," Boyd said. "Much of what is in the public domain about her is inaccurate. We are pleased that ProPublica is willing to acknowledge its mistakes and correct the record regarding its claims about Ms. Haspel."
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