CIA staff had a “suicide pact” to resign if Donald Trump fired director Gina Haspel, a former aide to the president told the House’s January 6 select committee.
Alyssa Farah Griffin said that the threat of a mass walkout stopped Trump from replacing Haspel with supporter Kash Patel, according to transcripts released by the committee in late December.
“I will share one thing that I cannot confirm myself, but it’s worth looking into,” said Farah Griffin, a former director of communications at the White House. She gave the testimony in April 2022.
“I have been told that they tried to fire Gina Haspel, the CIA director, and install Kash Patel.”
According to Farah Griffin’s retelling, the White House went ahead with the firing but backed down almost immediately.
“They were able to stop it,” Farah Griffin told the House select committee. “But allegedly, for about 14 minutes, Kash was actually the CIA director.”
There is no public record of Haspel being replaced by Patel, even for 14 minutes. Haspel remained in post until President Joe Biden took officer, who replaced her with William Burns, the current director.
Source: Business Insider
