Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton was not shy about his recent opinion of 9/11 planner Khalid Sheik Mohammed, and whether or not he should be allowed to give information to the Senate Intelligence Committee about CIA chief nominee Gina Haspel.
“Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the 9/11 mastermind, can testify to the Intelligence Committee after every 9/11 widow, widower and child testifies about they think of him vs. Gina Haspel and the CIA,” Cotton wrote on Twitter this week. “Until then, he can rot at Gitmo [Guantanamo Bay] and then he can rot in hell.”
Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the 9/11 mastermind, can testify to the Intelligence Committee after every 9/11 widow, widower, & child testifies about what they think of him vs. Gina Haspel & the CIA. Until then, he can rot at Gitmo & then he can rot in hell. https://t.co/LQ5U10zUCL
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) May 8, 2018
Haspel, 61, is the acting CIA director, and she has yet to be confirmed by Congress after facing backlash from some politicians over her intelligence career.
Haspel ran a black-site prison in Thailand where another high-level terrorist was detained and tortured in 2002, although it is not known if Haspel was involved in dealing with Mohammed.
Mohammed was captured in March 2003 and was kept at CIA prisons in Afghanistan and Poland. He was tortured by the CIA, including being waterboarded.
This week, Haspel pledged not to implement an interrogation program of that kind again.
“Having served in that tumultuous time, I can offer you my personal commitment, clearly and without reservation, that under my leadership CIA will not restart such a detention and interrogation program,” she said.
Mohammed asked this week to submit six paragraphs about Haspel to the Senate Intelligence Committee.
“I am not able to describe the information,” said Marine Lt. Col. Derek A. Poteet, who is defending Mohammed, adding that the information came directly from Mohammed and not government files given to defense lawyers.
