Mukasey discusses Mumbai, Guantanamo
Posted: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 12:37 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
Security
From NBC's Pete Williams
Attorney General
Michael Mukasey, meeting with reporters for the first time since he collapsed while delivering a speech two weeks ago, said, "I got down to the last paragraph of my speech, and the lights went out."
The lights in the room remained on, but that's how he described the sensation of fainting.
"I was hauled off to the hospital against my will, and I spent the rest of the evening arguing with my doctors about getting released," Mukasey said.
He said he still does not know what caused him to faint.
On the terror attack in Mumbai, the attorney general said FBI agents are there to gather evidence and help in the investigation. He said the U.S. has jurisdiction over violence against Americans as the result of a terrorist attack, meaning the U.S. could bring criminal charges against surviving terrorists found to be responsible for the death of Americans.
Asked about potential threats during the transition or inaugural period, Mukasey said, "The threat is what it's been," and said terrorists attack when they are ready, not according to the calendar or schedule of events.
And as for closing down the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Mukasey said he strongly believes that no detainee should be released into the U.S., acknowledging that such a policy complicates the task of finding other countries willing to take the detainees.
And he said if a military commission imposes a short sentence on a detainee considered to be a dangerous terrorist, it would be suicidal to release such a person even after the detainee had served his sentence.
Is that justice, he was asked?
And he answered yes.
