Feds cite why Shahzad was questioned without lawyer

Manhattan federal prosecutors released a letter Thursday acknowledging that they questioned Times Square bomb suspect Faisal Shahzad without a lawyer because they wanted "uninterrupted access" to him as "hundreds of agents" fanned out to follow leads generated by his cooperation.

The letter, filed under seal May 12 to secretly advise Southern District of New York Chief Judge Loretta Preska and Chief Magistrate George Yanthis of Shahzad's status, acknowledged that Shahzad's handling - his questioning lasted two weeks - was "unusual." Typically, federal defendants are brought to court within 48 hours of their arrest.

Shahzad was arrested on May 3. By May 12, his extended detention was already raising eyebrows in Manhattan's legal community. He was finally brought to court on Tuesday - after indicating he wanted a court appearance, officials said.

In the letter to the judges, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara argued, as he has publicly, that Shahzad "knowingly and voluntarily" waived his right to come to court every day - and acknowledged for the first time that it occurred without a lawyer.

Agents, he wrote, questioned Shahzad on "a number of sensitive national security and law enforcement matters for the purpose of preventing potential future attacks, identifying associates of the defendant and possible facilitators of the attempted attack, as well as gathering other actionable intelligence."

Exploring leads from Shahzad "has required the participation of hundreds of agents in different cities working around the clock since the defendant's arrest," Bharara said.

"Uninterrupted access to the defendant has been, and continues to be, critical to this process, which requires, among other things, an ability to promptly verify with him the accuracy of information developed in the investigation." he said.

In another development in the bomb case Thursday, a government lawyer in Boston revealed in a court that one of three Pakistani men detained in New England last week as part of a probe of the money trail behind the bomb attempt had Shahzad's phone number and name in his cell phone and written on an envelope.

The man, Aftab Khan, was a gas station attendant in Watertown, Mass., said an Associated Press report on the hearing. Detained on immigration violations, he wants to leave the U.S. voluntarily but the government wants him held.