Federal investigators now can hold terrorism suspects longer than other suspects without reading them Miranda rights, according to a FBI memo reviewed by the Wall Street Journal.
Law enforcement officials are required to read suspects Miranda rights before they are interrogated to inform them about their constitutional rights. If they fail to do so, suspect statements are not admissible in court.
According to the Journal, the directive — which was written in December but has not been made public — is one of the Obama administration’s most significant revisions to rules regarding the investigation of domestic terrorism suspects and could result in a serious debate over national security policy.
The memo reviewed by the newspaper says the policy applies to “exceptional cases” where investigators “conclude that continued unwarned interrogation is necessary to collect valuable and timely intelligence not related to any immediate threat.” This would require prior approval from FBI supervisors and Justice Department lawyers, according to the memo.
DOJ spokesman Matthew Miller told the Journal that the memo ensures that “law enforcement has the ability to question suspected terrorists without immediately providing Miranda warnings when the interrogation is reasonably prompted by immediate concern for the safety of the public or the agents.” He said “the threat posed by terrorist organizations and the nature of their attacks—which can include multiple accomplices and interconnected plots—creates fundamentally different public safety concerns than traditional criminal cases.”
Last year, Attorney General Eric Holder suggested changing the guidelines after controversy arose when two terrorism suspects — the Christmas Day 2009 bombing, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, and Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad — were questioned before Miranda rights were read.
In related news, a new bill — introduced by Sens. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), the chairman and ranking member on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) — would require the Attorney General to consult with U.S. intelligence officials before giving foreign terrorists Miranda rights.
The officials include the Director of National Intelligence, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Secretary of Homeland Security and Secretary of Defense.
