Trump CIA pick says he would break with boss on torture

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The man tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to helm the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) would refuse orders from his prospective boss if he is told to reinstate torture, he said Thursday.

Rep. Mike Pompeo told lawmakers during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that he would refuse any such order and that he did not think Trump would ask him to do so.

"Absolutely not," Pompeo responded when asked by Sen. Diane Feinstein if he would reinstate the enhanced interrogation program.

Trump said during his campaign that he would re-instate the controversial interrogation methods that many have said amount to torture, including waterboarding and other techniques he called "a hell of a lot worse".

During his congressional testimony, Pompeo later said he was fully committed to complying with the law.

His comments square with those of other Trump nominees who have testified this week, including Sen. Jeff Sessions who said that the George W. Bush-era program is "absolutely" improper and illegal under U.S. law.

Turning to Russia, Pompeo concurred with the findings from America's intelligence community that Russia is responsible for a campaign geared towards influencing the 2016 presidential race.

"It's pretty clear about what took place here about Russia involvement in efforts to hack information and to have an impact on American democracy," he said.

An unclassified intelligence report released last week said Russian President Vladimir Putin directly ordered the influence campaign aimed at helping Trump win the White House.

Pompeo said he is "very clear-eyed about" the report's findings.

"This was an aggressive action taken by the senior leaders inside Russia," he added.