This morning, Attorney General Eric Holder is facing questioning from the Senate Judiciary Committee. The focus, not surprisingly, has been on Holder’s announcement last week that five 9/11 suspects will be tried in civilian court in New York.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) made his argument against the trials, asking Holder how he would instruct the military to handle the hypothetical capture of Osama bin Laden.
Would you read him his Miranda rights? Graham asked. Would you get him a lawyer?
And if you didn’t, he went on, would a subsequent trial — if indeed the trial was held in civilian court and not a military tribunal — be jeopardized?
Holder didn’t have a clear answer, saying “it all depends” on the situation.
It was exactly what Graham wanted.
“Well it does not depend,” Graham said. “If you’re gonna prosecute anybody in civilian court, our law is clear that the moment custodial interrogation occurs, the defendant, the criminal defendant, is entitled to a lawyer and to be informed of their right to remain silent. The big problem I have is you’re criminalizing the war, that if we caught bin Laden tomorrow, we have mixed theories and couldn’t turn him over to the CIA, the FBI, military intelligence for an interrogation on the battlefield, because now you’re saying he’s subject to criminal court in the United States and you’re confusing the people fighting this war.”
“If we go down that road we’re gonna make the country less safe,” Graham continued. “I think you’ve made a fundamental mistake here.”
Holder responded that Graham’s concerns were a “red herring.”
Interestingly, when Holder made his announcement about the trials last week, Graham said in a statement that he would reserve comment on the issue until President Obama returns from his trip to Asia.
“I have been asked by the White House to withhold comment about today’s Guantanamo decision until I can meet face-to-face with the President after he returns from Asia,” he wrote. “As our Commander in Chief, I will honor his request.”
Obama is still traveling, and is in South Korea today.
