Posted on 02/04/2010 1:06:14 PM PST by Sergeant Tim
Senator Jim Risch (R-ID) provided a tutorial on why Miranda warnings did not ever need to be provided to Flight 253 bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab. It took place on February 3, 2010, during testimony by Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair and FBI Director Robert Mueller before the Senate Intelligence Committee (2 minute 54 second video here.)
Attorney General Eric Holder decided on Christmas Day to direct that Abdulmuttalab be read his rights. By doing so, he prevented the immediate gathering of further intelligence because Abdulmuttalab elected to remain silent and speak to a lawyer before answering further.
Not reading him Miranda warnings would not have effected the ability to convict Abdulmuttalab or prevented a sentence of life in prison. Yet that intelligence might not have been available for use as evidence in the federal prosecution of others involved, thus forcing their prosecution by Military Commission. The war paradigm -- the imminent risk of possible attacks by Abdulmuttalab's associates -- should have taken priority. Instead, AG Holder placed a higher priority on his preferred legal option to prosecute those involved in federal court.
Ping!
This is the result of an administration “doing as it wishes.”
There is protocol, but, who’s looking?
We are!
ping
Did they read Miranda Rights to Shoe Bomber Richard Reid?
Theymay not have needed to Mirandize him, but if he asks for a lawyer they MUST decide at that point what they are going to do with him. Criminal, or combatant.
Tim-
Hold on. Dennis Blair seems to be one of the few who is NOT just regurgitating the Obama party line. Two weeks ago he testified before the Senate Homeland Security subcommittee:
“Dennis Blair, the Director of National Intelligence lamented the fact that authorities gave Miranda warnings to accused Northwest Flight 253 terror suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (inset, right), without first consulting with his office and Homeland Security officials.”
“Authorities” in this case means FBI agents.
Eric Holder is the one who needs to be schooled. Either he’s lying or Blair is, and I believe Blair.
Yes. And guess what? This is the same mistake being made twice.
Reid invoked and, with his lawyer present, maintained that he acted alone, even though a different hand print was found on the explosive material. He then stopped talking.
Reid was sentenced prior to Saajid Badat’s arrest in England. The latter backed out on the plot and confessed immediately to British police when they raided his parent’s house in November 2003 and found his shoe-bomb. Yet Badat did not turn himself in and only indicated “an Arab” gave him the device while he was in Afghanistan. A lot of people could have been killed because Reid remained silent.
Mueller knows it far better than Blair. The lecture to them was really to Holder, by proxy.
“It turns out that that back in December 2001, Richard Reid — the “shoe bomber” — was read or reminded of his Miranda rights four times in two days, beginning five minutes after being taken into custody.”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/32399.html
Reid went for an entire five minutes without having his Miranda Rights read.
5 minutes of intelligence, then epic national security failure ensued.
In the case of foreign combatants, there are no rights. They may be summairly executed under international law and convention. We are doing that almost daily with the aerial attacks. We will continue to kill them in this way.
Just because someone tells them they have rights tose people have NO RIGHT to represent that they can in fact bestow such rights.
They should take this Christmas day bomber out and shoot him if he refuses to fully cooperate.
I agree, but for some reason their was not the controversy over the Shoe Bomber being read his Miranda Rights.
“In the case of foreign combatants, there are no rights.”
Was Richard Reid a foreign combatant?
At the time, it may have been a bridge too far, with it being earlier days still into our effort in Afghanistan. The interrogation and prosecution policies were far from set, even though President Bush had issued the Military Order a month before Reid’s attempt. Gitmo did not open until January 2002 and we were still rounding folks up in AG into the spring.
Any foreigner attempting to murder American citizens in the name of a government or other authority is and enemy combatant. If he/she is not a part of a classical military structure or are not wearing a defined uniform that is the correct classification.
Mad props to Jim Risch.
>> if he asks for a lawyer they MUST decide at that point what they are going to do with him. Criminal, or combatant <<
What if they had seized him before he cleared immigration? At that point, he would not have been legally “inside” the USA — in which case there might not have been any need to follow the usual legal niceties.
Does a non-US citizen even have Miranda rights?
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