FBI Interrogators Urge Obama to Keep Miranda Warnings Intact

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President Barack Obama

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Dear Mr. President,

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We write to express concern about reports that your administration is considering modifications to the public safety exception to Miranda v. Arizona. As professional interrogators who have spent decades questioning accused criminals – including spies and terrorists – we are writing to make clear that interrogators can do their job using the existing Miranda rules. No changes are necessary. In fact, changes might do more harm than good.

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Miranda rights are important and play a vital role in our work. As interrogators who have sat across the table from those who seek to harm our nation and its citizens, we assure you that existing Miranda rules are nimble enough to handle situations as they arise.

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In fact, when the Supreme Court recognized a public safety exception to Miranda, it highlighted the importance of trusting the instincts of law enforcement professionals in dangerous situations. “The exception which we recognize today, far from complicating the thought processes and the on-the-scene judgments of police officers, will simply free them to follow their legitimate instincts when confronting situations presenting a danger to the public safety.”

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Legislating on this subject could very well result in rules that unnecessarily constrain law enforcement officials and hinder their ability to adapt to unforeseen situations.

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In our decades of working in law enforcement, including the years following 9/11, Miranda rights never interfered with our ability to obtain useful information or make prosecutable cases. Miranda doesn’t undermine the ability to bring criminals to justice, incompetent investigators and untested laws do. We must not abandon our nation’s fundamental rule of law in the name of preserving public safety and convicting terrorists. If we abandon our laws and apply draconian methods in response to terrorist threats, then the terrorists and their quest for lawlessness will have won. What’s more, their victory will jeopardize our ability to bring those terrorists to justice later.

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We urge you to stand up for the rule of law and the ability of interrogators to effectively do their job.

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Jim Clemente

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Jack Cloonan

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Joe Navarro