In the latest Republican party weekly address, Maine Senator Susan Collins issued harsh criticisms of the Obama administration’s handling of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the young Nigerian man who attempted to bring down Flight 253 on Christmas Day with the use of explosives. In just under an hour of detention and interrogation, Abdulmutallab was Mirandized by government officials and provided a lawyer.
Senator Collins, considered a political moderate among Senate Republicans, responded that such action was typical for an administration that has a “blind spot in the War on Terrorism.” Collins further claimed that “there was no consultation with intelligence officials” prior to the DoJ’s decision to afford basic criminal rights to the alleged bomber.
The Obama administration’s actions in the wake of this event, though now subject to a heated partisan exchange, demonstrate that Collins’s claim regarding intelligence consultation is untrue. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs indicated that officials such as the Director of National Intelligence, the Secretary of Defense, Homeland Security Secretary, and National Security Advisor were consulted prior to the granting of Miranda rights.
Please visit Time Magazine’s Swampland blog for more on the exchange.
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