The White House is touting support for CIA director nominee Gina Haspel among former spy chiefs — especially those who’ve been critics of President Donald Trump — to woo Democrats ahead of her Senate confirmation hearing, the Washington Examiner reported.
The strategy was revealed in an email blast followed by a conference call involving Marc Short, White House director of legislative affairs, the Examiner reported.
White House officials cited the backing of James Clapper, former director of national intelligence, John Brennan, former CIA director, as well as former acting CIA director Michael Morell.
“We’re not looking to only get the support of people who are complimenting the administration, we want to make sure we’re getting the support of a broader network of intelligence officials," said Short, the Examiner reported.
“She is someone who can uniquely unite the intelligence community behind her candidacy,” he said on the conference call, the news outlet reported.
According to the Examiner, Short read statements from the former intelligence agency leaders, noting that Clapper — a CNN pundit who Trump called a "lying machine" last week — "has certainly been a critic of this administration," yet called Haspel "a great person."
Haspel would be the CIA’s first female director, but her post-9/11 work at the agency is a key concern for Democrats and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.
“When you quote the [American Civil Liberties Union] saying she was engaged in illegal activity, there is no evidence of that,” Short told one journalist, the Examiner reported. “And even the Democratic counsel on the [Senate Intelligence] Committee said she was acting under orders and followed those orders. I think her candidacy would not have the support of Brennan and Clapper and Morell if there was evidence otherwise.”
“I think the reality is much of Gina’s confirmation will rely upon her hearing because so much of her background is not known to the American people,” Short said, the Examiner reported.
“But I think she has been preparing aggressively for this, and I think she is ready for her opportunity next week to tell her story and the way she would lead the CIA.”
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