After judge demands answers, US discloses American ISIS suspect in Iraq asked FBI for lawyer
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The Justice Department has revealed that an American suspect being held in Iraq as an ISIS suspect told FBI special agents he wanted a lawyer, and was informed it was unknown when one would be provided.
The Justice Department revealed the information in a legal filing after U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered the government on Thursday to disclose whether the detainee had been advised of his rights. CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post have stories.
Chutkan demanded answers during a hearing in a habeas lawsuit filed on behalf of the detainee by the American Civil Liberties Union. The man, whose name has not been disclosed, has been held by the U.S. military in Iraq for 11 weeks.
During the hearing, Chutkan said the government appeared to be claiming “unchecked power that is, quite frankly, frightening.”
“It’s been two-and-a-half months. I’d like to know how long you think you get to do this to a U.S. citizen,” Chutkan said. “Basically, it’s just, ‘Trust us, we know what we’re doing.’”
The Justice Department said FBI special agents questioning the detainee advised him of his right to remain silent and his right to a lawyer. The detainee said he felt he should have a lawyer. According to the Justice Department legal filing, “the agents explained that due to his current situation, it was unknown when he would be able to have an attorney, and the individual stated that it was OK and that he is a patient man.”
The Justice Department has argued the ACLU does not have standing in the suit because it has not received permission to represent the detainee from the man or his relatives. Chutkan said government lawyers were employing “circular reasoning” because the United States was not disclosing the man’s identity and had not provided a lawyer.
The detainee was born in the United States and raised in a Middle Eastern country, an unnamed senior administration official told the Times. The U.S. does not want to release the man because they believe he fought for ISIS, but they don’t have enough evidence to bring charges, sources told the Times and the Post.
Hat tip to the Marshall Project.
Typo corrected on Dec. 4.
