Frankly, I don't buy the story that the fact that he refused to speak anymore had anything to do with the Miranda decision. I think they spoke on the phone for 45 minutes, and it took them that long for Holder to talk the others into his already held opinion;At least four U.S. agencies were involved in a decision to read Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab his rights, sources say, after it was clear that he had stopped sharing information.
Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair, center, has said the decision to read Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, left, his rights was a mistake. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr., right, is being pressured to clarify the decision. (U.S. Marshals Service, Mark Wilson / Getty Images, Brendan Hoffman / Bloomberg)
The decision to advise the accused Christmas Day attacker of his right to remain silent was made after teleconferences involving at least four government agencies -- and only after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had stopped talking to authorities, according to knowledgeable law enforcement officials.
Among those involved in the hastily called teleconferences were representatives from the Justice Department and the FBI, along with officials from the State Department and the CIA.
"It was a [law enforcement] community-wide conference, and they discussed a number of things," one source said on condition of anonymity. "That's when decisions were made on which course was going to proceed, to Mirandize him or otherwise."
The source said that Abdulmutallab was not read his rights until he made it clear that he was not going to say anything else.
Other government sources, also speaking anonymously, provided new details about what happened after Northwest Airlines Flight 253 landed in Detroit on Christmas Day. Abdulmutallab was taken to a hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich., for treatment of burns from a fire aboard the plane. Authorities said the blaze was sparked when Abdulmutallab tried to ignite explosives in his underwear.
FBI agents questioned him at the hospital for just under an hour. They did not give him the Miranda warning, which advises suspects that anything they say can be used against them at trial, citing an exemption that allows them first to seek crucial information on any pending crime.
During the questioning, one source said, Abdulmutallab suggested that other terrorism attempts were in the works. "He was making comments like, 'Others were following me.' And that is a circumstance where you've got a potential disaster, that there are others out there and you don't have to Mirandize him right away."