Avril Haines

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Avril Haines
Avril Haines portrait.jpg
Director of National Intelligence
Nominee-designate
Assuming office
TBD
PresidentJoe Biden (elect)
SucceedingJohn Ratcliffe
Deputy National Security Advisor
In office
January 11, 2015 – January 20, 2017
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byTony Blinken
Succeeded byK. T. McFarland
4th Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
In office
August 9, 2013 – January 10, 2015
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byMichael Morell
Succeeded byDavid S. Cohen
Personal details
Born
Avril Danica Haines

(1969-08-29) August 29, 1969 (age 51)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)David Davighi
EducationUniversity of Chicago (BA)
Georgetown University (JD)

Avril Danica Haines (born August 29, 1969) is an American lawyer and former government official who served as the White House Deputy National Security Advisor in the Obama administration. She previously served as Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the first woman to hold this position. Prior to her appointment to the CIA, she served as Deputy Counsel to the President for National Security Affairs in the Office of White House Counsel.

She replaced Tony Blinken as White House Deputy National Security Advisor, a position she held until the end of the Obama administration.

On November 23, 2020, President-elect Joe Biden announced his nomination of Haines to serve as Director of National Intelligence in the Cabinet, which would make her the first woman to hold this position.

Early life and education[edit]

Haines was born in Manhattan on August 29, 1969, to Adrian Rappin (née Adrienne Rappaport) and Thomas Haines.[1][2] Her mother was a painter. Adrian developed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and contracted avian tuberculosis, leading to her death when Haines was 15 years old.[1] Her father is a biochemist and professor emeritus at City College, who helped found the CUNY School of Medicine, where he served as the chair of the biochemistry department.[3]

After graduating from Hunter College High School, Haines traveled to Japan for a year and enrolled in Kodokan, an elite judo institute in Tokyo.[1] In 1988, Haines enrolled in the University of Chicago where she studied theoretical physics. While attending the University of Chicago, Haines worked repairing car engines at a mechanic shop in Hyde Park.[1] In 1991 Haines took up flying lessons in New Jersey, where she met her future husband, David Davighi. She later graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in physics in 1992.[4]

In 1992, Haines moved to Baltimore, Maryland, and enrolled as a doctoral student at Johns Hopkins University. However, later that year, Haines dropped out and with her future husband purchased at an auction a bar in Fell's Point, Baltimore, which had been seized in a drug raid;[1] they turned the location into an independent bookstore and café.[5] She named the store Adrian's Book Cafe, after her late mother; Adrian's realistic oil paintings filled the store.[5] The bookstore won City Paper's "Best Independent Bookstore" in 1997 and was known for having an unusual collection of literary offerings, local writers, erotica reading nights, and small press publications.[6] Adrian's hosted a number of literary readings, including erotica readings, which became a media focus when she was appointed by President Obama to be the Deputy Director of the CIA.[7][8] She served as the president of the Fell's Point Business Association until 1998.[9]

In 1998, she enrolled at the Georgetown University Law Center, receiving her Juris Doctor in 2001.[10]

Career[edit]

Early government service[edit]

Susan Rice (left), Avril Haines, and Lisa Monaco (right), (2015)

In 2001, Haines became a legal officer at the Hague Conference on Private International Law.[11] In 2002, she became a law clerk for United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Judge Danny Julian Boggs.[12] From 2003 until 2006, Haines worked in the Office of the Legal Adviser of the Department of State, first in the Office of Treaty Affairs and then in the Office of Political Military Affairs.[13] From 2007 until 2008, Haines worked for the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations as Deputy Chief Counsel for the Majority Senate Democrats (under then-chairman Joe Biden).[14] She then worked for the State Department as the assistant legal adviser for treaty affairs from 2008 to 2010.[15]

In 2010, Haines was appointed to serve in the office of the White House Counsel as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel to the President for National Security Affairs at the White House.[16]

On April 18, 2013, Obama nominated Haines to serve as Legal Adviser of the Department of State, to fill the position vacated after Harold Hongju Koh resigned to return to teaching at Yale Law School.[17] However, on June 13, 2013, Obama withdrew Haines' nomination to be Legal Adviser of the Department of State, choosing instead to select her as Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.[18][15] Haines was nominated to replace Michael Morell, the CIA's deputy and former acting director. The office of the deputy director is not subject to Senate confirmation, with Haines subsequently taking office on August 9, 2013, the final day of Morrell's tenure.[19] Haines was the first woman to ever hold the office of the deputy director, while Gina Haspel was the first female career intelligence officer to be named Director.[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]

In 2015 Haines was tasked with determining whether CIA personnel involved in the hacking of the computers of Senate staffers who were authoring the Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture would be disciplined. Haines chose not to discipline them, overruling the CIA Inspector General.[28] Subsequently, she was involved in the CIA project of redacting the Senate report[29] for release. In 2015,[citation needed] she was named Deputy National Security Advisor (DNSA), the first woman to hold that position.[30][31][32]

During her years in Obama White House, Haines played a significant role working closely with John Brennan in determining administration policy on "targeted killings" by drones.[1] The ACLU strongly criticized the Obama policy on drone killings as failing to meet international human rights norms.[33] During the Democratic National Committee email leak during the 2016 presidential campaign, Haines as DNSA convened a series of meetings to discuss ways to respond to the hacking and leaks.[34]

Private sector[edit]

After leaving the White House, Haines was appointed to multiple posts at Columbia University. She is a senior research scholar and deputy director for the Columbia World Projects, a program designed to bring to bear academic scholarship on some of the most basic and fundamental challenges the world is facing, and was designated the program's next director in May 2020, replacing Nicholas Lemann.[35][36] Haines is also a fellow at the Human Rights Institute and National Security Law Program at Columbia Law School.[37]

Haines has been a member of the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service.[38] She is also a distinguished fellow at the Institute for Security Policy and Law, Syracuse University.[39]

Haines has consulted for Palantir Technologies,[29] and was an employee of WestExec Advisors.[40] In late June 2020, shortly after taking on the role of overseeing foreign policy and national security considerations for the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign transition team, references to Palantir and other corporations for which she had worked were abruptly removed from her resume as posted on the website of the Brookings Institution, in relation to a fellowship she held there.[41]

Director of National Intelligence[edit]

On November 23, 2020, President-elect Joe Biden announced his nomination of Haines for Director of National Intelligence, which would make her the first woman to hold this position.[42][43]

Political positions[edit]

In 2018, Haines was an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump's controversial nomination of Gina Haspel to serve as CIA director. While not commenting on Haspel's record, she praised her knowledge of the agency and intelligence, a position hailed by the White House as it promoted Haspel's confirmation.[44][45] Haspel was reportedly involved in the operations of CIA secret black site torture sites in 2002 and 2003. Haspel also has admitted her role in helping destroy videotapes of torture by CIA interrogators.[46] At least one progressive nonprofit leader has said he or she feared "professional reprisal" for speaking out publicly in criticism of Haines' support of Haspel as CIA director.[47]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Klaidman, Daniel (June 26, 2013). "The Least Likely Spy". Newsweek. Archived from the original on January 19, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
  2. ^ Haines, Thomas H.; Lewis, Mindy (August 6, 2019). A Curious Life: From Rebel Orphan to Innovative Scientist. ISBN 9781642931945.
  3. ^ Rubinstein, Dana (July 15, 2008). "Serious Chemistry". The New York Observer. Archived from the original on October 14, 2016.
  4. ^ Muhlenkamp, Katherine (2013). "The University of Chicago Magazine". Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. Archived from the original on February 3, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
  5. ^ a b Corey, Mary (January 9, 1994). "Food and coffee, with books, billiards and student chefs". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016.
  6. ^ Serpick, Evan (June 13, 2013). "New CIA number two was once a Fells Point fixture". City Paper. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  7. ^ Boehlert, Eric (June 14, 2013). "Erotica, High Heels, and Handbags: Is This How The Beltway Press Should Cover Powerful Women?". Media Matters. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  8. ^ Corey, Mary (May 22, 1995). "Between The Covers Erotica Nights A Hot Item At Fells Point Bookstore". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017.
  9. ^ Buote, Brenda J. (January 4, 1998). "Fells Point debates tax to add desired services Benefits: Homeowners and merchants want a safer, cleaner neighborhood. But some residents don't think they can afford a community district levy". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  10. ^ Roberts, Roxanne; Yahr, Emily (June 13, 2013). "Avril Haines, new CIA #2, ran indie bookstore remembered for '90s 'erotica nights'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016.
  11. ^ Burke, Naomi (April 23, 2013). "International Law: A Man's World?". Cambridge Journal of International and Comparative Law. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University. Archived from the original on March 27, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
  12. ^ Clark, Lesley (June 12, 2013). "Changes at the CIA". mcclatchydc.com. McClatchy News Service. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
  13. ^ White House Office of the Press Secretary (April 17, 2013). "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
  14. ^ Peralta, Eyder (June 12, 2013). "CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell Retires". NPR. Archived from the original on April 15, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  15. ^ a b AFP (June 12, 2013). "Avril Haines appointed first female CIA deputy director". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on September 27, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  16. ^ Dozier, Kimberly (June 13, 2013). "CIA deputy director retires". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
  17. ^ White House Office of the Press Secretary (April 18, 2013). "Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate". whitehouse.gov. Archived from the original on April 21, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
  18. ^ Shane, Scott (June 12, 2013). "C.I.A. to Get First Woman in No. 2 Job". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 21, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  19. ^ DeYoung, Karen; Miller, Greg (June 12, 2013). "CIA's deputy director to be replaced with White House lawyer". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 5, 2013. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  20. ^ Varandani, Suman (February 3, 2017). "Who Is Gina Haspel? 5 Facts About Trump's CIA Deputy Director Pick". International Business Times. Archived from the original on February 3, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017. Haspel joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1985, and spent most of her career undercover. She has been part of several controversies, including her involvement in several torture programs conducted by the U.S. She also ran waterboarding and other interrogation techniques at some of CIA's "black sites" or secret prisons.
  21. ^ "Gina Haspel Selected to be Deputy Director of CIA". CIA. Archived from the original on February 3, 2017. Ms. Haspel is the first female career CIA officer to be named Deputy Director.
  22. ^ Handley, Paul (February 2, 2017). "Woman tied to secret interrogations to be CIA No. 2". Yahoo News. Washington DC: Yahoo!. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017. A longtime CIA clandestine operations official reportedly involved in its much-criticized "black site" interrogations after the 9/11 attacks was named number two at the US spy agency Thursday.
  23. ^ Holmes, Oliver (February 3, 2017). "CIA deputy director linked to torture at Thailand black site". The Guardian. Archived from the original on February 3, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017. Kellyanne Conway, a senior White House aide and Trump’s former campaign manager, congratulated Haspel in a tweet, saying she was the first female to be second in command at the CIA. However, Avril Haines was the first woman to hold the position, from 2013-15.
  24. ^ Greenwald, Glenn (February 2, 2017). "The CIA's New Deputy Director Ran a Black Site for Torture". The Intercept. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017. That CIA official’s name whose torture activities the Post described is Gina Haspel. Today, as BuzzFeed’s Jason Leopold noted, CIA Director Mike Pompeo announced that Haspel was selected by Trump to be Deputy Director of the CIA.
  25. ^ Riechmann, Deb (February 2, 2017). "Gina Haspel becomes first female CIA deputy director". WDSU. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  26. ^ Tulumello, Jennifer Skalka (June 13, 2013). "Why Obama chose woman with no CIA experience for No. 2 CIA job". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
  27. ^ Edelman, Adam (June 13, 2013). "New CIA deputy Avril Haines hosted erotica readings in the '90s". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
  28. ^ Savage, Charlie (November 3, 2015). Power Wars. ISBN 9780316286602. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  29. ^ a b Ackerman, Spencer (July 7, 2020). "The Proxy War Over a Top Biden Adviser". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on July 26, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  30. ^ Jones, Dustin (November 23, 2020). "Avril Haines Nominated As First Female Director Of National Intelligence". NPR. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  31. ^ "A Top Intelligence Officer Joins the Law School". Columbia Law School. November 14, 2017. Archived from the original on June 22, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  32. ^ "Statement by the President on the Selection of Avril Haines as Deputy National Security Advisor" (Press release). White House. December 18, 2014. Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
  33. ^ Kaufman, Brett Max (July 1, 2016). "President Obama's New, Long-Promised Drone 'Transparency' Is Not Nearly Enough". ACLU. Archived from the original on July 26, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  34. ^ Lipton, Eric; Sanger, David E.; Shane, Scott (December 13, 2016). "The Perfect Weapon: How Russian Cyberpower Invaded the U.S." The New York Times. Washington DC: Nash Holdings. p. A1. Archived from the original on May 27, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2016. In a series of “deputies meetings” run by Avril Haines, the deputy national security adviser and a former deputy director of the C.I.A., several officials warned that an overreaction by the administration would play into Mr. Putin’s hands.
  35. ^ "Statement on Columbia World Projects deputy director Avril Haines' nomination by President-elect Biden as director of national intelligence". Columbia World Projects. November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  36. ^ "Avril Haines to Serve as Next Director of Columbia World Projects". Columbia World Projects. May 26, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  37. ^ "Avril Haines". Inspire2Serve. Archived from the original on May 4, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  38. ^ Williams, Chris (November 23, 2020). "Who is Avril Haines, Joe Biden's director of national intelligence nominee?". WAGA-TV. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  39. ^ "Distinguished Fellows". Syracuse University Institute for Security Policy and Law. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  40. ^ Mullins, Brody; Bykowicz, Julie (November 25, 2020). "Biden Cabinet Picks Face Scrutiny Over Ties to WestExec Firm". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. ProQuest 2464196936. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  41. ^ Hussain, Murtaza (June 26, 2020). "Controversial Data-Mining Firm Palantir Vanishes from Biden Adviser's Biography After She Joins Campaign". The Intercept. Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  42. ^ Thomas, Ken; Restuccia, Andrew (November 23, 2020). "Biden Reveals Some Cabinet Picks". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  43. ^ Crowley, Michael; Smialek, Jeanna (November 23, 2020). "Biden Will Nominate First Woman to Lead Intelligence, Latino for Homeland Security". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  44. ^ Reichmann, Deb (March 18, 2018). "Trump's pick to lead CIA to face questions about torture". Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 26, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  45. ^ "Gina Haspel Has Defended Our National Security". whitehouse.gov. White House. May 8, 2018. Archived from the original on May 8, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  46. ^ Kessler, Glenn (May 10, 2018). "CIA director nominee Haspel and the destruction of interrogation tapes: Contradictions and questions". Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  47. ^ Kaye, Jeffrey (July 8, 2020). "Biden Advisor an "Apologist for Torture," an Architect of "Kill Lists"". Institute for Public Accuracy. Archived from the original on July 22, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.

External links[edit]

Government offices
Preceded by
Michael Morell 		Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
2013–2015 		Succeeded by
David S. Cohen
Preceded by
Tony Blinken 		United States Deputy National Security Advisor
2015–2017 		Succeeded by
K. T. McFarland
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Avril_Haines&oldid=991985303"