What You Need to Know: Avril Haines

Avril Haines was a partner at WestExec Advisors, a swampy consulting firm that also employed fellow Cabinet nominee Antony Blinken. It’s been dubbed “Biden’s Cabinet in waiting.” 

“[WestExec], which now looks like a government-in-waiting for the next administration, was founded in 2017 by Tony Blinken, President-elect Joe Biden’s choice for secretary of State, and Michèle Flournoy, a top contender for secretary of Defense. And one of its former principals, Avril Haines, is Biden’s pick for director of national intelligence.” – Politico

“Think about it: If Biden were to win, we do think that companies will start coming to WestExec, for ‘Hey, what is the commerce secretary thinking?’ one of the firm’s members said. ‘Because we likely have a history with that person or that staffer in our network somewhere. That will be something we can provide that we just don’t provide right now.’” – The American Prospect

“’One of the major problems is we don’t know if there are companies that feel those officials they used to employ owe them a favor, or if officials working on policies on the outside now have the ability to influence policies from inside the government,’ said Mandy Smithberger, director of the Center for Defense Information at the nonpartisan Project on Government Oversight.” – Wall Street Journal:

Haines faces criticism from the left for her work as Deputy Director of the CIA where she played a key role in the CIA’s drone and enhanced interrogation programs. 

“Haines also played a key role in covering up the U.S. torture program, known euphemistically as ‘enhanced interrogation techniques,’ which included repeated water boarding, sexual humiliation, sleep deprivation, dousing naked prisoners with ice cold water and rectal rehydration.” – Salon

“In 2015, when Haines was CIA deputy director, CIA agents illegally hacked the computers of the Senate Intelligence Committee to thwart its investigation into the spy agency’s detention and interrogation program. Haines overruled the CIA’s own inspector general in failing to discipline the CIA agents who violated the U.S. Constitution’s separation of powers. According to former CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, she not only shielded the hackers from accountability but even awarded them the Career Intelligence Medal.”

“Haines has already faced intense criticism from progressives. Tasked in June by the Biden administration to help execute his foreign policy pledges, Haines was directly involved with the Obama targeted killing program, even playing a legal role in shaping it — yet was considered a voice of constraint on lethal strikes in the latter half of Obama’s administration” – The Intercept

Avril Haines has drawn criticism from the left for her consulting work for data-management firm Palantir, which later vanished from her biography after joining the Biden campaign. She has yet to answer questions about her work at Palantir. 

“Mr. Biden’s choice for director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, was paid $180,000 to consult for the data-mining company Palantir, which has raised liberal hackles for providing data and surveillance services to law enforcement, including the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” – New York Times

“Haines’s biography page at the Brookings Institute, where she is listed as a nonresident senior fellow, boasted of this affiliation until at least last week, when it suddenly no longer appeared on the page.” – The Intercept

“The company has also been accused in the past of plotting to intimidate journalists involved in reporting documents released by WikiLeaks.” – The Intercept

“The company also aided the National Security Agency by creating the tools to facilitate worldwide spying.”