Rep. Mike Pompeo Says He Would Not Obey Torture Orders From Trump
In today's Senate confirmation hearing, Donald Trump's pick to head the CIA, Rep. Mike Pompeo was asked by Sen. Dianne Feinstein if he would use torture if the president asked him to and Rep. Pompeo replied, "Absolutely not."
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee began her questions to Rep. Pompeo and asked, "If you were ordered by the president to restart the CIA's use of enhanced interrogation techniques that fall outside the Army field manual, would you comply?
Rep. Pompeo replied, "Senator, absolutely not."
He continued, “Moreover, I can’t imagine that I would be asked that by the president-elect, or then president. I voted for the change in the Army Field Manual in place as a member of Congress and I understand that law very very quickly and any changes to that will come through Congress...and regular order...I will comply with the law."
As The Hill reports, two years ago, Rep. Pompeo heavily criticized Sen. Feinstein for “[putting] American lives in danger” by releasing the summary, arguing that it has signaled to allies in the fight against terrorism that the U.S. will not “honor its commitments.”