By Michael Ventura
DNAinfo Senior Editor
MANHATTAN — The arrest of admitted Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad has raised a legal question about whether he should be tried in the court system as a criminal or by the military as an enemy combatant.
As the world waited to catch a glimpse of the naturalized American citizen and accused domestic terrorist at the Manhattan federal court, pundits on both sides of the issue weighed in.
"One regrettable part of this investigation so far is Shahzad's arraignment," an editorial in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal said. "This means he has been allowed to lawyer-up and told of his right to remain silent, rather than being subjected to more thorough interrogation as an enemy combatant."
During a Senate committee hearing where Mayor Michael Bloomberg and NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly testified, Sen. Lindsay Graham said "no one in their right mind would expect a Marine to read someone caught on the battle field their rights.
"I don't think it's smart for us to say that the homeland is not part of the battlefield," he continued. "Why should you get a better deal when you get here?"
Even if you're an American citizen, if you're helping the enemy, you should be considered as such, Graham said.
US Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday that Shahzad had been questioned initially without being read his rights under the public safety exception to the Miranda law, which requires authorities tell the accused of their right to remain silent and to an attorney, and was providing "useful information."
After Shahzad was read his rights, he continued to provide information, Holder said.
"The Supreme Court has held there's no constitutional obligation to give him Miranda rights," Long Island Rep. Peter King told the Daily News.
"If [investigators] make a judgment that this was a terrorist act, the person should be turned over to the military," Sen. Joseph Lieberman told the News. "The first thing you want to get from somebody like this is information about other co-conspirators, perhaps about other attacks."
The White House, however, disagreed, reminding critics of the fact that Shahzad is an American citizen and therefore is entitled to his rights.
"Some of the comments have been curious," Gibbs said, according to the News. "One of the comments was, 'I know he's an American citizen, but still...' A unique viewpoint."
