Republicans blast terror suspect handling

WASHINGTON -- The Senate Republican leader accused the Obama administration on Wednesday of undermining U.S. national security by bringing a Somali man facing terrorism charges to New York for trial.

In a speech on the Senate floor, Sen. Mitch McConnell assailed the administration's decision, arguing that the Somali citizen, Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, belongs at the U.S. prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where he could be tried by a military tribunal.

"The administration has purposefully imported a terrorist into the U.S. and is providing him all the rights of U.S. citizens in court," McConnell, of Kentucky, said. "This ideological rigidity being displayed by the administration is harming the national security of the United States of America."

Senior administration officials said Tuesday that the military captured Warsame on April 19 and put him aboard a Navy warship, where he was interrogated at sea by intelligence officials. Under interrogation, Warsame gave up what officials called important intelligence about al-Qaida in Yemen and its relationship with al-Shabab militants in Somalia. The two groups have been known to have ties, but the extent of that relationship has remained unclear.

A senior administration official defended the decision, saying the Defense Department and intelligence officials agreed with other members of the national security team that Warsame should be prosecuted in civilian courts. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is continuing.

In a statement, Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said Warsame belongs at Guantánamo, not in a civilian court, and expressed concern about the security costs for New York police.

"He is not an American citizen, nor did his criminal acts or his detention occur in the U.S. He is a Somali who traveled to Yemen for terror training. Warsame is a foreigner and an unlawful enemy combatant," King said.