STATEMENT OF THE U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE STATE OF MARYLAND,
THOMAS DIBIAGIO

"The allegations in the New York Times article today are false. At no time did I say that the White House had anything to do with the decision to place John Allen Mohammad in federal custody. Further, it should be clear to everyone involved in this matter that no White House officials had anything to do with any of the decisions about where these individuals would be in custody or where charges might be brought.

"Law enforcement officials first took the two individuals into custody at approximately 3 a.m. Thursday morning, October 24th. Both individuals were questioned throughout the day. There was no indication throughout the day that either of the individuals were yielding any useful information. In fact the juvenile was not speaking to officials at all. At one point, in the early afternoon I did caution law enforcement officials that federal law requires that a juvenile must be brought before a magistrate 'forthwith,' and an adult must be brought before a magistrate 'without unnecessary delay.'

"At approximately 3:00 p.m., Maryland Assistant States Attorney John McCarthy called my office and informed us that the adult had invoked his right to counsel. At that time, by law, the questioning had to cease and the suspects had to be presented to a Federal Magistrate Judge.

"At that time the decision to proceed with an appearance before a Federal Magistrate Judge was based solely on the legal concerns raised under 18 U.S.C. Section 5033 which mandates that a juvenile must be brought before a magistrate judge 'forthwith' and Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (i.e. 5 of Federal Criminal Procedure), which mandate that an adult must be brought before a magistrate 'without unnecessary delay.' "

###

02-628