Suspect in Christmas Day Plot Resumes Cooperation

(Feb. 3) -- Christmas Day airline-bombing suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is talking to U.S. federal agents about his training and contacts in Yemen, according to published reports, resuming his cooperation last week after family members flew from Nigeria to the U.S. and urged him to work with the FBI.

Federal law enforcement officials, including FBI, CIA and other intelligence officers, said they are obtaining "valuable intelligence" from Abdulmutallab. Officials said he is speaking about his involvement in the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which has claimed responsibility for the alleged bombing attempt aboard the Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines Flight 253.

Abdulmutallab stopped working with authorities after a 50-minute interrogation on the day of his arrest in Michigan and later requested a lawyer. His latest interrogations were meant to be kept secret, but authorities confirmed he is cooperating at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing Tuesday.

"We got good intelligence," said Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair. "We're getting more."

The 23-year-old Nigerian resumed cooperation at the urging of his family, including his parents, who were flown to the U.S. on Jan. 17 after meeting with FBI agents in Nigeria, according to reports. Abdulmutallab's family reportedly convinced him to cooperate with the FBI because they believe he will be treated fairly in the U.S. court system. Before the alleged Christmas Day bombing attempt, Abdulmutallab's father went to the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria to warn that his son could be dangerous.

The Justice Department and Attorney General Eric Holder have been criticized by House and Senate Republicans for administering Miranda rights to Abdulmutallab and charging him through the civilian court system instead of declaring him an enemy combatant and interrogating him as a military prisoner.

"There's no changing the fact that Mirandizing Abdulmutallab gave terrorists a six-week head start to cover their tracks," said Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee. "We will never know what lifesaving information on co-conspirators and future plots we missed out on."

Obama administration officials note that similar suspects, including the 2001 "shoe bomber," were also charged in civilian court. A senior administration official told reporters late Tuesday that the administration's handling of the case has been "very successful as far as gaining his cooperation."

In exchange for valuable information about Yemen's role in al-Qaida terror activity, Abdulmutallab could receive a reduced prison sentence. Abdulmutallab's federal public defender began meeting with Justice Department officials last week in attempt to reach a plea deal, according to a Washington Post report.

Abdulmutallab faces six criminal charges, including using a plane as a weapon of mass destruction. If convicted on all six charges, he would receive a virtual life sentence in prison.