May 8, 2018 - Politics & Policy

9/11 architect asked to give Intel Committee information on Haspel

Razor wire tops the fence of the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay.

Razor wire tops the fence of the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay. Photo: John Moore/Getty Images)

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the main planner of the 9/11 attacks, has asked permission from a Guantánamo Bay military judge to give six paragraphs of information about CIA nominee Gina Haspel to the Senate Intelligence Committee, according to the New York Times.

What we don't know: It's unclear what information KSM has, or why senators should trust it. KSM was tortured, but he was held in prisons in Afghanistan and Poland — not Thailand, which was overseen by Haspel. Per the Times, it's unknown whether Haspel "was involved, directly or indirectly" in KSM's torture.

The details: KSM was waterboarded 183 times, "slammed into a wall, given rectal rehydrations without medical need, shackled into painful stress positions and sleep deprived for about a week," and more, per the Times.

  • His lawyer, Marine Lt. Col. Derek A. Poteet, said KSM's defense attorney's "agreed that the information was important."
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