WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Robert Mueller says a requirement of military custody for captured suspected terrorists is problematic and is raising concerns with the divisive provision in a sweeping defense bill.
Mueller wrote to the leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Monday expressing his reservations over the bill’s provision mandating military custody of a suspect deemed to be a member of al-Qaida or its affiliates and involved in plotting or committing attacks on the United States.
He complained that the provision could adversely affect the FBI’s ability to continue ongoing international terrorism investigations as well as obtain intelligence from the inquiries.
The White House has threatened a veto of the defense bill, citing the military custody provision and other limits on the administration’s handling of terror suspects.
