The head of the FBI told senators on Wednesday he has significant concerns about the provisions on terrorist detainees in a defense authorization bill.
The legislation, which President Obama has threatened to veto, “lacks clarity” on how authority should be divided between the military and the FBI when a person suspected of being a terrorist is arrested, FBI Director Robert Mueller said.
Mueller’s concerns, offered Wednesday at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, center on the FBI’s access to a prisoner’s interrogation.
ueller said he worried that the existing language — which would grant the military custody rights over people who are arrested and suspected of being al Qaeda members or associates — would be subject to interpretation in certain scenarios.
“It is tremendously important at the time of arrest that you make the right decisions in terms of addressing the person, particularly persons whom you hope to cooperate, not just to interrogate but to cooperate and turn around on others,” Mueller said.
“My continuing concern is that that uncertainty will be there until it is resolved in some way by statute or otherwise.”
The White House has yet to say whether it will follow through on its threat to veto the defense bill. The conference report on the bill was released Monday evening and is headed for passage in the House and Senate, perhaps as soon as Wednesday.
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