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Feds deny thwarting sniper suspect's confession
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Justice Department officials Wednesday strongly disputed a contention by Maryland authorities that the U.S. attorney in Baltimore thwarted a confession by John Allen Muhammad when he ordered the suspect moved to federal custody on day he was arrested. The complaints by Maryland officials about the interrogation in Montgomery County were first reported Wednesday in The New York Times. One federal law enforcement source familiar with the questioning told CNN that ending the interrogation was an "unwarranted interruption." While admitting 41-year-old Muhammad had yet to say anything of substance, the source said, "If their lips are moving, you keep them talking." The Times quoted officials who said the U.S. attorney in Maryland, Thomas DiBiagio, ordered Muhammad moved to federal custody so he could appear before a U.S. magistrate in Baltimore on the federal weapons violation charge under which he was being held. Federal law requires speedy appearance before a judge for anyone under federal charges. John Lee Malvo, 17, Muhammad's suspected accomplice, was being held as a material witness and needed to appear before a judge, too, DiBiagio said. One of the officials claimed DiBiagio insisted he was under orders from the Justice Department and the White House. DiBiagio called the allegations "false" and said he never mentioned White House involvement. The White House likewise denied involvement. DiBiagio said White House officials were not involved in any decision about where Muhammad and Malvo would be put into custody or where charges might be brought, DiBiagio said. "There was no indication throughout the day that either of the individuals were yielding any useful information," DiBiagio said. "In fact, the juvenile was not speaking to officials at all." A Justice Department spokesman in Washington said the questioning ended when Muhammad invoked his right to counsel, which is when interrogation must stop, under the law. "There was no order or directive from the U.S. attorney, and the Justice Department and the White House had absolutely nothing to do with it," the spokesman said. DiBiagio said John McCarthy, a Maryland assistant state's attorney, informed him around 3 p.m. last Thursday -- some 12 hours after the suspects were arrested at a rest stop where they were sleeping in their car -- that Muhammad had invoked his right to counsel, and that was when he stepped in to end the questioning. The Times quoted a local law enforcement official Thursday as saying, however, that Muhammad had been read the Miranda warnings spelling out his right to an attorney, signed a form to acknowledging that he understood his rights, and had not requested a lawyer. The two men are suspected in the three-week rampage of random shootings beginning October 2 in Maryland, Virginia and Washington that left 10 dead and three wounded. Charges have been filed against one or both of them in all but two of the shootings -- one in Washington, the other in Falls Church, Virginia. (Charges by jurisdiction) Prosecutors appeared to be engaged in a jurisdictional tug of war on where the first trial would be held. The key issue is getting death penalty-eligible convictions against the two -- something that would be possible only in Virginia because of Malvo's age. The Justice Department issued a 20-count criminal complaint against Muhammad Tuesday charging him with a variety of federal offenses that could result in a death sentence upon conviction. It's believed that similar charges were filed against Malvo in a complaint kept under seal because he is a juvenile. He could not be sentenced to death in a federal case even if tried as an adult. Other charges have been brought by officials in Alabama and Louisiana, both places that Muhammad and Malvo are known to have visited before arriving in the Washington area. Two shootings in Washington state also are being reinvestigated for possible links to the suspects, one a murder in Tacoma, the other an attack on a police station in Lynnwood two years ago. Muhammad and Malvo once lived in the Tacoma area. (Full story) CNN's Terry Frieden, Kelly Wallace, Art Harris and Kevin Bohn contributed to this story.
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