DOJ vindicates Rivkin after Times Square attack

BP Confident It Can Contain Gushing Oil; Sole Survivor of Libyan Plane Crash Shielded From Media

Aired May 16, 2010 - 06:00   ET on CNN

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad was interrogated for four hours before being told he had the right to remain silent, his Miranda rights. Anything he said up to that point could be used against him in court. That process of gathering information is the public safety exception to Miranda, used when officials fear an immediate threat to public safety. Now the Obama Justice Department wants Congress to help it expand the use of the tactic. On NBC's "Meet The Press" Attorney General Eric Holder called it big news. 

ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: We have to think about perhaps modifying the rules interrogators have and somehow coming up with something that is flexible and is more consistent with the threat that we now face. 

TODD: That public safety exception to Miranda was first used in standard criminal cases long before the war on terror. 

(On camera): When we asked why the Justice Department wants to expand the rule now, a spokesperson here said she couldn't go beyond what the Attorney General Holder said. But some legal analysts say the administration believes now with the Shahzad case and the Christmas Day airline attack that it could use more time to interrogate terror suspects and get information on plots.

(Voice over): Shahzad and Christmas Day suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab were both read their Miranda rights, both kept talking. But either one could have clammed up at that point. And the plots behind their alleged attacks might never have been divulged. Former White House aid, David Rivkin is a critic of the Obama administration's terror policies and favors military tribunals. He says this about Holder's idea. 

DAVID RIVKIN, FOUNDATION FOR THE DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: You need enough time in an interactive mode to get all the information out of the suspect. You don't know in advance, and may not even know after a few hours. You may need some time to go back and check. 

TODD: Stephen Vladeck who has represented terror suspects before the Supreme Court, says more exemptions on Miranda will eat away at suspects rights. 

(On camera): What about dealing with terrorism suspects? These aren't common criminals. You just have to inject a little bit more flexibility into the system. 

STEPHEN VLADECK, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL: To me, the flexibility that the government is seeking in these cases is provided by the public safety exception, and has existed for 25 years. But beyond that, I think that the fact that many of these suspects are U.S. citizens, that most of them are arrested on U.S. soil means there are and must be limits on exactly how much the government can bend the traditional rules. 

TODD: Liberals like to point out the Bush administration read terror suspects their rights, too. Shoe bomber Richard Reid was promptly Mirandized in 2001. But conservative advocates say even if it was done under Bush, it's still a mistake that can tie the hands of counter terrorism investigators when the clock is ticking. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington. 

(END VIDEOTAPE) BOLDUAN: And CNN launched a special investigation to find out how someone born in America, living the American dream, can then set out to destroy it. Watch "American Al Qaeda" tonight at 8:00 Eastern only on CNN.

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