Alex Fitzpatrick2013-04-20 15:43:18 UTCSenator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) posted a statement to Facebook Saturday morning urging the Obama administration to consider labeling Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the second suspect in the Boston bombings who was apprehended alive Friday night, an enemy combatant. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) joined Graham's statement.
Tsarnaev became a naturalized American citizen on Sept. 11 of last year.
Tsarnaev became a naturalized American citizen on Sept. 11 of last year. Declaring him an enemy combatant would allow the government to interrogate him for intelligence beyond the degree allowed under normal circumstances. It would also move his case out of the domestic American legal justice system and most likely into a military tribunal.
"We should be focused on gathering intelligence from this suspect right now that can help our nation understand how this attack occurred and what may follow in the future," reads the lawmakers' statement. "That should be our focus, not a future domestic criminal trial that may take years to complete."
U.S. Attorney General Carmen Ortiz has already said that prosecutors opted for a public safety exemption which allows them to delay reading Tsarnaev his Miranda rights. Graham and the other lawmakers don't believe that to be the proper course of action.
" . . . We have concerns that limiting this investigation to 48 hours and exclusively relying on the public safety exception to Miranda, could very well be a national security mistake," reads the statement. "It could severely limit our ability to gather critical information about future attacks from this suspect."
Graham's statement echoed his previous comments made via Twitter Friday night as Tsarnaev was being confronted by police:
If captured, I hope Administration will at least consider holding the Boston suspect as enemy combatant for intelligence gathering purposes.
— Lindsey Graham (@GrahamBlog) April 19, 2013
If the #Boston suspect has ties to overseas terror organizations he could be treasure trove ofinformation.
— Lindsey Graham (@GrahamBlog) April 19, 2013
The last thing we may want to do is read Boston suspect Miranda Rights telling him to "remain silent."
— Lindsey Graham (@GrahamBlog) April 19, 2013
The Obama Administration needs to be contemplating these issues and should not rush into a bad decision.
— Lindsey Graham (@GrahamBlog) April 19, 2013
Graham continued his arguments after Tsarnaev was taken into custody, arguing that labeling Tsarnaev an enemy combatant would be legal and that he could provide evidence which may stop some hypothetical upcoming attack:
Now that the suspect is in custody, the last thing I want is for him to remain silent. #Boston
— Lindsey Graham (@GrahamBlog) April 20, 2013
We should be focused on preventing possible attacks over the coming hours and days.#Boston
— Lindsey Graham (@GrahamBlog) April 20, 2013
The Law of War allows us to hold individual in this scenario as potential enemy combatant w/o Miranda warnings or appointment of counsel.
— Lindsey Graham (@GrahamBlog) April 20, 2013
Critics immediately attacked Graham's statements, arguing that labeling Tsarnaev an enemy combatant would violate his constitutional rights:
@grahamblog You don't care who you trample all over, do you?
— Brett Blake (@papicek) April 19, 2013
@grahamblog he is anAmerican citizen. It is a crime. Sure, terror, but it is a capital crime.
— Richard Dedor (@RichardDedor) April 19, 2013
.@grahamblog you know there is more than one Amendment to the Constitution, right? It doesn't stop at the Second.
— gideonstrumpet (@gideonstrumpet) April 19, 2013
@grahamblog Did this suspect become an Citizen last year?If he did,I think you need to remember that precious Constitutional 5th amendment.
— Pnthrgrlgail (@Mama4Obama1) April 19, 2013
Several columnists have also argued against law enforcement's comparatively less controversial decision to delay reading Tsarnaev his Miranda rights. "But the next time you read about an abusive interrogation, or a wrongful conviction that resulted from a false confession, think about why we have Miranda in the first place. It’s to stop law enforcement authorities from committing abuses," wrote Emily Bazelon for Slate in a piece that's quickly circulating around Twitter Saturday morning.
Image via Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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