WASHINGTON — Badly burned and bleeding, the suspect in the Christmas Day flight to Detroit tried one last gambit as he was led away: He contended there was another bomb on the plane he had just tried to destroy, officials said.
There was no second bomb, federal agents learned after a tense search. But the Nigerian suspect’s threat began hours of conversations that are now the subject of a fierce political debate over the right way to handle terrorism suspects.
In interviews with The Associated Press, U.S. officials described for the first time the details of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s arrest Dec. 25 at Detroit Metro Airport.
Captured after a bomb hidden in his underwear ignited but failed to explode, Abdulmutallab spoke freely and provided valuable intelligence, officials said. Federal agents repeatedly interviewed him or heard him speak to others. But when they read him his legal rights nearly 10 hours after the incident, he went silent.
Since the incident, Republican lawmakers have argued that the Obama administration mishandled the case by not considering putting Abdulmutallab in military custody — part of a larger political argument about whether terrorism suspects should face military or civilian justice.
The nation’s top intelligence official, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, said Abdulmutallab should have been questioned by a special group of terrorism investigators, rather than the FBI agents who responded to the scene.
“Those who now argue that a different action should have been taken in this case were notably silent when dozens of terrorists were successfully prosecuted in federal court by the previous administration,” Justice Department spokesman Matthew Miller said last week.
Investigators are allowed to question a suspect without a Miranda warning if they are trying to end a threat to the public.
Handling of bomb suspect debated
Just before noon: Federal agents were notified that Northwest Airlines Flight 253 had arrived at the Detroit airport from Amsterdam, with a passenger who had lit an explosive device. On the way to the University of Michigan Medical Center, suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab said he had acted alone and had been trying to take down the aircraft.
2 p.m.: Abdulmutallab arrived at the hospital. Under guard, he told a doctor treating him that he had tried to trigger the explosive.
2:15 p.m.: FBI agents from the Detroit bureau arrived at the hospital and were briefed.
3:30 p.m.: FBI agents began interviewing the suspect without giving him his Miranda warnings. Abdulmutallab spoke openly, said one official, talking in detail about what he had done and the planning that went into the attack. Other counterterrorism officials speaking on condition of anonymity said he admitted he had been trained and instructed in the plot by al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen. The interview lasted about 50 minutes.
Five hours later: A new FBI interrogation team was sent in. Abdulmutallab was told of his right to remain silent and right to have an attorney. He remained silent.
