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Holder: I made decision to charge terror suspect Posted on 2/4/2010
Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday he made the decision to charge the Christmas Day terror suspect in civilian court rather than the military system.
He had no objection from all the other relevant departments of the government.
Letter to Sen. McConnell Holder wrote in a letter to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, that the FBI told its partners in the intelligence community on Christmas Day and again the next day that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab would be charged criminally.
Suspect Talking to Interrogators The letter came after senior administration officials disclosed that the suspect had resumed talking to U.S. interrogators last week.
Abdulmutallab has discussed his contacts in Yemen and provided intelligence in multiple terrorism investigations
Meeting with Obama Holder said that the possibility of detaining Abdulmutallab in the U.S. military system under the law of war was discussed in the days following the arrest.
The discussions were part of a Jan. 5 meeting that included President Barack Obama and senior members of the national security team.
Holder wrote, "No agency supported the use of law of war detention for Abdulmutallab, and no agency has since advised the Department of Justice that an alternative course of action should have been, or should now be, pursued."
Decision Consistant with Bush Policies Holder said his decision was consistent with earlier practices followed uniformly in both the Obama and Bush administrations.
Holder wrote, "The Bush administration used the criminal justice system to convict more than 300 individuals on terrorism-related charges."
Attorney General Holder specifically mentioned the case of Richard Reid, who tried but failed to ignite a shoe bomb on a U.S.-bound trans-Atlantic jetliner.
He said, "The practice of the U.S. government followed by prior and current administrations without a single exception, has been to arrest and detain under federal criminal law all terrorist suspects who are apprehended inside the United States."
Holder defended the decision to read Abdulmutallab his Miranda rights.
