they consider it a good sign for their own prospects. my experience and success as an operations officer led to three leadership positions in the clandestine service. one year ago i was asked to serve as deputy director of c.i.a. the reaction of the workforce to a rare nomination of one of their own to be director, someone who has been in the trenches with them, has been overwhelming. i am humbled by their confidence that i can successfully lead this agency and inspired to work harder than ever to maintain that trust. they know that i don t need time to learn the business of how c.i.a. works. i know c.i.a. like the back of my hand. i know them, i know the threats we face, and i know what we need to be successful in our mission. i have played a leading role this past year in setting us on the right path, and i intend on
i support the higher moral standard that this country has decided to hold itself to. i would never, ever take c.i.a. back to an interrogation program. first of all, c.i.a. follows the law. we followed the law then. we follow the law today. i support the law. i wouldn t support a change in the law. but i ll tell you this, i would not put c.i.a. officers at risk by asking them to undertake risky, controversial activity again. my question is this. on a going-forward basis, if this president asked you to do something that you find morally objectionable, even if there is an olc opinion, what will you do? will you carry that out, that order, or not? we re entrusting you in a different position if you re confirmed. i need to know what
deal with the five eyes or with other intelligence partners. thank you for that. i also deal with a lot of employees at the c.i.a. they are incredibly enthusiastic about your appointment to this. so thank you for that. for the american people who are watching this i can tell you everybody sitting on this side of the table regularly hear things that cause us to not sleep very well at night. as the head of this agency i can tell you, i will sleep better at night knowing you are directing these efforts. thank you for that. thank you for undertaking what you are undertaking. i know that you have thought about this carefully. if the press reports are right you ve been up and down a little bit on this but the american people will be very grateful for your service. let me ask a question as we close here.
deployed in the field and meeting on a dark moonless night and taking dead drops and this is a woman who has done pretty much everything one can do in the clandestine service in the c.i.a. she has run offensive operations and recruited spies and taken fire. she keeps a bullet in her office. she was deployed as a young operative in africa and with a group of soldier from a hostile foreign country and opened fire on her car as it sped away and blew out a tire. she keeps that bullet as a reminder of the sacrifices and the dangers that these c.i.a. operatives undergo. there is the memorial wall in the c.i.a. covered with stars which anonymously recognize the people that have died in the service of our country in the clandestine service. those are her friends. she knows those people and served with them in the field. she is the single most
locations. in washington she has held numerous senior leadership positions including deputy director, deputy director of national clandestine services, gina, i ve reviewed the material provided by you and have spoken to you personally many times. i believe your honorable service and outstanding judgment make you a natural fit to lead the c.i.a. i can assure you that this committee will continue to faithfully follow its charter and conduct vigorous and realtime oversight over c.i.a. s operations and activities. we ll ask difficult questions of you and your staff and expect honest, complete and timely responses. the american people allow the c.i.a. to operate in the shadows because they have a trust in oversight. and i take that responsibility seriously. now some may seek to turn this