[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 13 (Tuesday, January 24, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S437]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CONFIRMATION OF MICHAEL POMPEO

  Mr. MURPHY. Mr. President, I oppose Mr. Pompeo's confirmation to be 
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency because I believe he will 
take the CIA in a dangerously wrong direction.
  America needs a CIA Director who will uphold American values by 
resolutely condemning torture and mass surveillance. Mr. Pompeo's last-
minute attempt to walk back his opposition to torture is very 
disturbing and suggests the Trump administration is readying to abandon 
our commitment to international human rights.
  Second, Mr. Pompeo's enthusiasm for bringing back programs that sweep 
up massive amounts of Americans' private information is deeply 
troubling. I have no confidence that Donald Trump would sufficiently 
protect the private emails of Americans if he had access to them, and 
Mr. Pompeo's support for large-scale data collection programs is 
inconsistent with the bipartisan reforms of the PATRIOT Act that passed 
in the last Congress.
  Third, I am very worried that Mr. Pompeo, as CIA Director, will 
continue the trend of covert agencies usurping the power of the State 
Department and the Defense Department. Mr. Pompeo, under questioning, 
refused to acknowledge the longstanding precedent of diplomatic 
embassies having primary authority for final signoff on overseas 
operations. This suggests Mr. Pompeo could lead a rogue agency that 
will frustrate rather than aid our diplomatic objectives overseas.

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