Eric Holder

DOJ told FBI ‘agents on the ground’ to Mirandize Abdulmuttalab

My analysis Friday was confirmed by the Associated Press yesterday. FBI Director Robert Mueller did not tell the whole truth during his testimony Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The FBI agents on the ground did not make the decision to read Miranda warnings to Flight 253 bomber Umar Farook Abdulmuttalab. Instead, the Department of Justice directed them to do that after the first 50-minute interrogation. (Hat tip to Stephen Hayes for the link to the AP report.)

The DOJ was reckless. Even though security measures were ramped up abroad and 10 hours had elapsed, planes continued to take off for the U.S. and body scanners and police-grade pat down searches would not have detected that same explosive hidden in a body cavity. It was also unnecessary as everything Abdulmuttalab said after the passengers pounced on him and retrieved the bomb is not needed to win a conviction and his being sentenced to life in prison.

The AP seemed to deliberately obscure the order of events. Let’s flesh it out: