Senate suddenly confirms new CIA lawyer
The Senate voted abruptly Thursday to confirm a new general counsel for the Central Intelligence Agency, after senators apparently withdrew holds they had placed on the nomination over concerns that the spy agency was not cooperating with an ongoing investigation into Bush-era interrogation practices.
Justice Department lawyer Caroline Krass handily won confirmation to the legal job in a 95-4 vote just moments after Majority Leader Harry Reid obtained unanimous consent for an immediate vote.
Senate aides said the change-of-heart about confirming Krass to the CIA post came after several Democrats said they had grave concerns about recent actions by the CIA’s acting general counsel, Robert Eatinger.
Reid persuaded his Democratic colleagues in recent days that an immediate way to address their lack of confidence in Eatinger would be to drop their objections to Krass’s nomination and allow her to take over the CIA’s legal shop, the aides said.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/03/caroline-krass-cia-lawyer-senate-confirmed-104646.html#