David Rivkin Slams Obama over Legal Treatment of Nigerian Terrorist

OfficialWire ^ | 1/5/2010 | Brent Baldwin

[The Doctor]

Noted commentator and former associate White House counsel David Rivkin, appearing on Wolf Blitzer’s CNN newscast on Jan.4, criticized the Obama Administration for holding alleged Nigerian terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab as a criminal suspect rather than interrogating him as a captured enemy combatant.

“The safety of the American people has been sacrificed on the altar of political correctness, animated by an irrational hostility towards the venerable military justice system,” Rivkin said.

Designating Umar as a criminal suspect has caused him to “clam up” on the advice of his lawyers and has impeded the flow of urgently needed intelligence about future attacks, Rivkin noted.

“Even if Umar did begin talking, in the context of plea negotiations this would not happen for weeks or even months,” he explained.

Rivkin, co-chairman of the Center for Law and Counterterrorism at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and an expert on constitutional and international law, said that “intelligence, particularly tactical intelligence, goes stale very quickly.”

As reported during the “Situation Room” broadcast, the suspect currently has at least one public defender. If the suspect had been held as an enemy combatant he would not have received standard Miranda warnings or any access to counsel, Rivkin pointed out during the show.

About David Rivkin

David Rivkin is an attorney in private practice and partner at Baker & Hostetler in Washington, D.C., who has had a lengthy career distinguished by service in the White House during two presidents’ terms, in the U.S. Department of Justice and in the U.S. Department of Energy. He is a well-known writer and media commentator on matters of constitutional and international law, as well as foreign and defense policy. He is a visiting fellow at the Nixon Center, contributing editor at the National Review, and a member of the Advisory Council at National Interest magazine. He currently serves as co-chairman of the Center for Law and Counterterrorism at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He also represents foreign governments and corporate entities on legal, political, defense, economy and public relations matters.

For more information, visit www.davidrivkin.com.

[The Doctor]

I can understand why the liberals think the way they do about this issue if for no other reason than I wouldn't want to give Abdulmutallab the increased stature that comes with being an "enemy combatant". But I'm more persuaded by David Rivkin's argument that we don't have the luxury of time to let this play out in the criminal justice system. We've done that before (Richard Reid) and it keeps happening.

[mvpel]

Sharp criticism of Obama on CNN?? I’m shocked!

[bergmeid]

Do libtards not understand that they too could be killed by these terrorists? It’s not as if an airplane only contains conservatives......

[fight_truth_decay]

If you're a Doctor then you know Attorneys need to make money too. ;)

The government has been run by attorneys who also have friends in high places (The Firm).

"...if it feels like Obama is surrounded by more lawyers than, say Bush, it could because of the myriad of advisers, directors and czars. According to The Daily Beast, there are roughly twenty—and counting—Obama czars, and many of those power-posts have gone to, you guessed it, lawyers.

Biden, Clinton, Holder... head the pack. Obama as well.. Harvard Law ’91 (Current Ranking: 2) Practice: Hopkins & Sutter (summer), Chicago based firm that handles some of the government's most SENSITIVE and highly publicized banking cases ; Sidley & Austin - Chicago/Asia (summer)Sidley antitrust team boasts a portfolio of heath-care clients. Much of this work has been part of the headline-grabbing generic drug litigation in courts all over the country, led by Sidley partner and Who's Who nominee John W Treece.

Note, Obama worked summers.

[Fredgoblu]

They were discussing this on the radio yesterday. Perhaps there are some freeper lawyers in here that can explain...

The commentators said that the biggest crime he can be charged with by the feds is "trying to blow up a plane", which carries a maximum 20 year sentence. They said that the feds cannot charge him with anything more serious because murder (and attempted murder) is a state statute, not a federal statute.

Is this right?!?!?!

He should be charged with ~300 counts of attempted murder, not a slap-on-the-wrist. Michigan's AG should tell the feds to piss-off and let us take care of him, if this is the case (and preferably get a change of venue to Texas, where they know how to use the electric chair).

Or, if there's anyone with some extra money lying around, a prison bounty would work, too.

[The Doctor]

Everyone needs to make money. Just as in any profession, some are more honorable than others. I know Rivkin personally, and can vouch for his integrity. He is a constitutional conservative.

[The Doctor]

Remember the beltway terrorists. They were charged with crimes in both Maryland and Virginia. I don’t think the federal-state is an either-or situation. In other words, it may be that he can be charged with different crimes at the federal and state levels. Worth checking.