In an opinion piece in this morning's BDN, Sen. Susan Collins continues to repeat a falsehood that has already been refuted by the Obama administration:
The fact is, Abdulmutallab was questioned by FBI investigators for less than one hour before the Justice Department advised him that he could have a lawyer and refuse to answer.
The fact is, while Abdulmutallab might have "talked" to federal authorities and medical personnel immediately after the incident, talking with Customs agents and doctors is very different from being interrogated by trained intelligence investigators.
The fact is, once Abdulmutallab was provided a lawyer and told he could remain silent, he stopped providing authorities with critical information. He remained silent for nearly six weeks. We will never know how much valuable, actionable intelligence was lost during that time.
In the USAToday today, John Brennan, Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, wrote (link):
Politics should never get in the way of national security. But too many in Washington are now misrepresenting the facts to score political points, instead of coming together to keep us safe.
Immediately after the failed Christmas Day attack, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was thoroughly interrogated and provided important information. Senior counterterrorism officials from the White House, the intelligence community and the military were all actively discussing this case before he was Mirandized and supported the decision to charge him in criminal court.
The most important breakthrough occurred after Abdulmutallab was read his rights, a long-standing FBI policy that was reaffirmed under Michael Mukasey, President Bush's attorney general. The critics who want the FBI to ignore this long-established practice also ignore the lessons we have learned in waging this war: Terrorists such as Jose Padilla and Saleh al-Mari did not cooperate when transferred to military custody, which can harden one's determination to resist cooperation.
Why did Abdulmutallab begin to cooperate with authorities? As ABC reported last week:
The agents began a "thorough and comprehensive" background investigation of Abdulmuttalab, contacting his family, friends and associates and conducting thorough background interviews "to gain understanding of the subject."
The two agents identified those family members who "directly supported gaining Umar Farouq's cooperation and disagreed with his effort to murder innocent civilians."
The agents and key family members arrived in back in the US on January 17th. The family members met with officials from the Justice Department and the FBI to plan a way forward.
"One of the principal reasons why his family came back is because they had complete trust in the US system of justice and believed that Umar Farouq would be treated fairly and appropriately," the senior official said. "And that they would be as well."
The FBI and Abdulmuttalab's family approached the subject and "gained his cooperation. He has been cooperating for days," the official said.
And as Brennan notes:
There have been three convictions of terrorists in the military tribunal system since 9/11, and hundreds in the criminal justice system - including high-profile terrorists such as Reid and 9/11 plotter Zacarius Moussaoui.
I don't understand Sen. Collins' quixotic motive for continuing this argument. She was demonstrably wrong to imply our Constitution applies only to American citizens. She laments that suspects will clam up when provided a lawyer, without suggesting how those accused should be forced to talk. And she ignores long established procedures that as far as I have been able to determine, she has never complained about until now.
As always, Sen. Collins is more than welcome to respond in these pages.
But as of yet, she never has - perhaps she has been read a Miranda warning. |
DIRIGO BLUE is available as an