We noted last night that under the Obama administration’s law-enforcement approach to terrorism, if we capture Osama bin Laden the first things we’ll have to do are read him his rights and get him a free lawyer. When Lindsay Graham pointed this out to Eric Holder in yesterday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Holder feebly responded that maybe we wouldn’t have to Mirandize bin Laden because the evidence against him is “overwhelming.”
This answer was essentially nonsensical, but Pat Leahy amplified it this morning, in a further effort at spin control:
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the chairman of that committee, said that arguments raised by Republican senators about whether bin Laden would be afforded Miranda rights if he were captured was a “red herring.”
“The red herring that my friend [Sen.] Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) was covering is not realistic,” Leahy said during an appearance on “Washington Journal” on C-SPAN.
“For one thing, capturing Osama bin Laden — we’ve had enough on him, we don’t need to interrogate him,” Leahy added.
There you have it: under the Obama administration’s approach we won’t be able to interrogate bin Laden, but that’s OK–we don’t need to! Do you think bin Laden might know a thing or two about al Qaeda’s plans, operations, personnel and methods that it might be useful for us to find out? Leahy’s claim is beyond stupid, but this is what happens when the administration embarks on a policy that simply cannot be defended.
Via The Corner.
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