A new television ad accuses Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., of representing the interests of terrorists due to his opposition to Gina Haspel's nomination to head the CIA, Politico is reporting.
The $100,000 ad campaign casts Paul's opposition to Haspel as a concession to terrorists responsible for the 9/11 attacks, according to the website. The ads were to start on Tuesday in Paul's home state of Kentucky.
The little-known American Exceptionalism Institute, which Politico describes as a "dark-money group," is behind the ad buy.
"Haspel did exactly what her country asked of her and what was necessary to keep us safe," a narrator says in the 30-second ad. "Call Rand Paul, remind him he's in Washington to represent us, not him."
The ad ends with an image of Abu Zubaydah, one of Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants.
Haspel, as a CIA officer, was involved in harsh interrogations of captured al-Qaida operations and in the destruction of some tapes of Zubaydah's questioning, Politico said.
She was not involved in the interrogation of Zubaydah as Paul has claimed, the website noted.
Haspel, currently the second ranking official at the CIA, is facing criticism from some lawmakers and human rights groups. Paul, writing in Politico, has said he would do "everything to stop" her nomination.
Brian Kinnett, a spokesman for the group running the ad, said it is targeted for a conservative audience.
"Sen. Rand Paul has offered Gina Haspel no apology for his malicious and false attacks on her sterling record of service in the war on terror," he said. "
We call on Paul to support Haspel's nomination and remind him to represent Kentucky's interests in Congress, not the interests of Al Qaeda terrorists who launched a war against our country and then cried foul over treatment when they got caught by heroes like Haspel."
Meanwhile a spokesman for Paul, Matthew Hawes said: "Regardless of the retraction of one anecdote, the fact remains that Gina Haspel was instrumental in running a place where people were tortured. According to multiple published, undisputed accounts, she oversaw a black site, and she further destroyed evidence of torture. This should preclude her from ever running the CIA."
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