New bill would limit Miranda rights for foreigners arrested as terror suspects

Foreigners arrested as suspected terrorists could be questioned by authorities before being read their rights, according to legislation introduced in the Senate Thursday.

The top-ranking senators on homeland security introduced a bill that would require Attorney General Eric Holder to consult U.S. intelligence officials before reading Miranda rights to any foreign suspected terrorist who has been arrested.

{mosads}Sens. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), the chairman and ranking member on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, put forward the measure in response to the handling of the Christmas Day bomber.

Officials read Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab his Miranda rights and placed him in the civilian judicial system before consulting the Director of National Intelligence or Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, according to committee testimony last year. Abdulmutallab has been charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction after he allegedly tried to blow up a U.S.-bound flight containing hundreds of passengers.

Lawmakers criticized the Obama administration for mishandling the case, saying that Abdulmutallab should have been interrogated before being granted any sort of legal rights. By not first questioning him, U.S. officials jeopardized the safety of the country, some lawmakers argued.

“When a suspected terrorist is captured, our first mission must be to secure any information that terrorist might have about additional attacks,” Lieberman said. “Our legislation would require the attorney general to consult with the Director of National Intelligence, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, and the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Defense before initiating action that may adversely affect our efforts in the global fight against terrorism.”

Collins’s office said the bill does not strip the president of investigative authority or automatically dispose suspected terrorists who have been arrested to military tribunals or civilian trials.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) has introduced a companion bill in the lower chamber.

“The president’s policy of treating terrorists like common criminals has failed. Giving terrorists the same rights as American citizens ignores the seriousness of the threat from al Qaeda and other foreign terrorist groups,” Smith said in a statement.

“These are acts of war, not isolated incidents of crime,” Smith said. “Foreign terrorists should be treated like enemy combatants and interrogated by intelligence experts to obtain crucial information about future attacks. Anything less risks the safety and security of the American people.”