From the Jeff Sessions shop:
Sessions Grills FBI Director on Miranda Rights for Christmas Bomber
Expresses concern that decision was made “on the fly” and that vital intelligence may have been lost
[Note: for video of this exchange, please click here.]
FBI DIRECTOR MUELLER: “In this particular case, in fast-moving events, decisions were made — appropriately, I believe, very appropriately — given the situation . . . ”
SEN. SESSIONS: “I don’t think you can say it’s appropriate. We don’t know what that individual knows, learned while he was working with al Qaeda, and we may never know, because he now has got a lawyer who’s telling him to be quiet.” (starts at 5:17)
MUELLER: “The decision to arrest [Abdulmutallab] and put him in criminal courts, the decision was made by the agents on the ground, the ones that took him from the plane and then followed up on the arrest in the hospital.” (starts at 1:38)
SESSIONS: “One of the things we learned from the 9/11 Commission is intelligence is what saves lives. . . . That’s not the motive of [the] criminal justice system generally, in America; it’s to prosecute criminals. . . . Are you satisfied that you have a clear understanding, a national policy, about how these people should be treated once they are apprehended? It sounds to me like the guys on the ground just made a decision on the fly.” (starts at 4:10)
SESSIONS: “Were you contacted about whether or not this individual should be treated as an unlawful enemy combatant or a civilian criminal?”
MUELLER “No.” (starts at 4:57)
SESSIONS: “It’s not just the ability to prosecute this individual, but whether, if he were properly interrogated over a period of time, we may find out that there are other cells, other plans, other Abdulmutallabs out there boarding planes that are going to blow up American citizens.” (starts at 6:30)