Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) opposition to CIA director nominee Gina Haspel, because "her refusal to acknowledge torture's immorality is disqualifying," has apparently pushed some Republicans to some dark places. Not long after a Fox Business guest, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney, claimed Thursday morning that torture works and that it "worked" on "Songbird John," a White House press official reportedly joked during a meeting about McCain's likely terminal brain cancer. McCain's opposition to Haspel "doesn't matter, he's dying anyway," said Kelly Sadler, who focuses on immigration as a special assistant in the press office, two people told The Hill. Her comment was apparently meant as a joke, the sources say, but it caused "discomfort" in the room.
Other media outlets confirmed the comment by Sadler, a former opinion editor at The Washington Times, though the reaction to her comment is contested:
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