Spy Museum Responds To Senators’ Appeal To Modify Its Exhibit Misrepresenting CIA Torture Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. has responded to a request made by U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), all members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, that the museum make changes to its exhibit on the CIA torture program.

In December 2019, the senators sent a letter to Tamara Christian, President and Chief Operating Officer of the International Spy Museum, expressing disappointment over the exhibit's misrepresentation of the CIA's torture program, sanitizing depictions of how techniques were applied and suggesting that torture is effective in stopping terrorist attacks.

“We are pleased that the museum has confirmed it is moving forward with changes to its interrogation exhibit, to include reference to the Senate Intelligence Committee’s Study of the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program. We also welcome the invitation to visit with museum leadership, historians, and curators to ensure that the changes being implemented reflect the truth about the brutality and ineffectiveness of torture,” said Heinrich, Wyden, and Feinstein.

The Senators’ December 18, 2019 letter available here.

The International Spy Museum’s response is available here.