By Jesse Liebman --
February 4, 2010
Responding to Republican condemnation of its handling of a failed Dec. 25 bombing attempt aboard a Detroit-bound aircraft, the White House stepped up its defense Wednesday, insisting it has done what it should have to get intelligence from the suspect and thwart future attacks.
In a hearing with Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, Republicans on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence questioned the timing of the disclosure and accused the White House of "political cover."
"I do find it an interesting strategy that we hastily call a briefing to let America and our friends and our enemies in the Middle East know that he's now singing like a canary," said Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee.
"You've got people who are criticizing things that we're doing in this administration but never criticize things that happen in the administration prior that are exactly the same," said Bill Burton, deputy White House press secretary. "And without anything changing in the interim, the only thing that I can surmise is maybe that there are some politics at play."
For weeks, the White House has been hit with congressional critics
who say the suspected bomber, 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab of Nigeria,
should have been held as an enemy combatant -- and denied constitutional rights
-- rather than being read his rights after being interrogated by FBI agents on
Christmas.
Abdulmutallab stopped talking shortly after being read his rights.
This week, the administration fought back: Senior officials brought select reporters into a meeting Tuesday evening to inform them that members of Abdulmutallab's family who want him to cooperate came to the U.S. with FBI agents on Jan. 17 and that, beginning last week, he began talking again.
Also, the White House said Wednesday that Abdulmutallab has not been offered a plea deal or reduced sentence for his cooperation, though the Justice Department will take it "into consideration."
Blair said he would not comment on the "internal processes"
for this investigation and does not want to "go into the political side of it,"
but he did say he was surprised by the "combination of reality and politics" in
this issue.
"I just can't control all of the politics," Blair said. "I just wanted to protect the country."
