Lawmakers Ask Holder: “Who Decided to Give Abdulmutallab Miranda Rights?”

All seven Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee have signed a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder seeking to learn who made the decision to treat Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the accused Christmas Day terrorist bomber, as a criminal suspect rather than an enemy combatant. On the same day he tried to detonate a bomb aboard a Northwest Airlines plane in Detroit, Abdulmutallab, who was trained by al Qaeda in Yemen, was informed of his Miranda right to remain silent and given a government-paid lawyer. He then refused to cooperate with U.S. authorities.
The letter is signed by GOP Sens. Jeff Sessions, Orrin Hatch, Charles Grassley, Jon Kyl, Lindsey Graham, John Cornyn, and Tom Coburn. The lawmakers were rattled by testimony yesterday before both the Judiciary Committee and the Homeland Security Committee by some of the nation’s top law enforcement and anti-terrorism officials. All of those who testified — FBI director Robert Mueller, National Counterterrorism Center director Michael Leiter, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano — said they were not consulted about the decision to handle Abdulmutallab in the criminal courts.
The letter asks who made the decision as well as the basis for the decision. In addition, it asks Holder to answer “whether the administration has a protocol or policy in place for handling al Qaeda terrorists captured in the United States.”
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Lawmakers-to-Holder-Who-decided-to-give-Miranda-rights-to-accused-Detroit-bomber-82281457.html

The FBI Chief, Robert Mueller stated that not only was he not consulted, but the decision to arrest and Mirandize Abdulmutallab was made by the agents on the scene, with no prior instructions.

“Abdulmutallab was arrested on the plane after these incidents; there was no prior discussion,” Mueller said. “He was handed over, I believe, by the personnel on the plane to CBP [U.S. Customs and Border Proection], who originally had custody of him. He was taken to a hospital in which the FBI took custody of him. It happened so fast that there was no time really at that point whether the transfer was made very quickly, given the moving circumstances, to determine whether alternative arrests could or should be made.”

Sessions asked again: “Who made the decision that he would be treated as if he were a criminal to be tried in civilian courts and be provided Miranda warnings? Who?”

“The decision to arrest him, put him in criminal courts,” Mueller answered, “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 — ”

“So the decision was made by agents on the ground based on some protocol or some policy that they understood?” Sessions asked.

“Based on an ongoing, very fluid situation,” Mueller answered, “in which they are trying to gather the facts and determine what culpability this individual had, but as important as determining the culpability of this individual, what other threats were out there that needed to be addressed?”

……”Are you satisfied that you have a clear understanding, a national policy about how these people should be treated once they are apprehended?” Sessions asked. “It sounds to me like the guys on the ground just made a decision on the fly.”
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/FBI-Director-I-wasnt-consulted-on-how-to-charge-Abdulmutallab-82179117.html

This is another case of the FBI being totally unprepared and unsure of any guidelines for the apprehension and prosessing of terrorists. We are at war, in case they’ve forgotten.
His father went to the U.S. Embassy in Abjua, Nigeria, and told authorities that his 23-year-old son had fallen under the influence of “religious extremists” (al Qaeda) in Yemen. The Brits had him on a watch list because of his extremist activities, but never shared the information. In spite of all the red flags, he was never placed on a “do not fly” watch list.

At the very least, anyone who attempts a similar terrorist act should be immediately detained under the jurisdiction of counter-terrorism interrogators.

Who made this idiotic decision?

Look no further than President Punchdrunk. The Dhimmis and Marxists in Obama’s cabinet want wartime enemy combatants treated as ordinary criminals.

He will not consult with members of the intelligence community, nor will he follow the standard correct procedure of trying Islamic terrorists in front of a military tribunal, where they belong.

THE ONE doesn’t owe an explanation to the peons; he’ll just do as he pleases. National security and the war against Islamic thugs be damned.

Just wait until the trials start in NYC. It will make PT Barnum look like an amateur.