U.S. Sen Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Monday that it would be "absolutely crazy" to treat Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev as anything but an "enemy combatant." As he has done since Friday, Graham suggested that the 19-year-old Tsarnaev should be interrogated without being read his Miranda rights.
"I could care less about the trial. A first-year law student could do this trial," Graham said Monday on "Fox & Friends."
"I want to gather intelligence. What does he know about terrorist organizations within our country? Does he know of other terrorist activity coming our way? That’s a national security inquiry. He’s a potential enemy combatant. He has ties with overseas terrorists. He’s clearly a radical Islamist. I would hold him under that theory. ...
"This idea that the only way we can question him about national security matters is to go through his lawyer, turns [it] over to the terrorist and their lawyer controlling information to protect us all. That’s crazy. That is absolutely crazy. This man should be held and questioned under the law of war."
Graham's push has been supported by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), as well as Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.).
The public safety exemption to reading a suspect his or her Miranda rights comes when there is an immediate threat to public security.
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