The Christmas Day terrorist suspect who tried to use a bomb hidden in his underwear has been cooperating with investigators since last week, a federal law enforcement official said Tuesday.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has been providing useful intelligence that FBI agents working with the intelligence community have been following up on in the United States and overseas, the official said.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
On Capitol Hill, FBI Director Robert Mueller told Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., on Tuesday that that Abdulmutallab did talk to FBI agents after he was arrested on Christmas Day, speaking freely until he went into surgery for burns on his legs.
After the surgery, when the FBI sought to resume the questioning, Abdulmutallab made it clear he would not answer further questions. When agents had satisfied themselves of that, they read him his Miranda rights, Mueller said.
Since the attempted bombing, several prominent lawmakers have argued Abdulmutallab should have been placed immediately in military custody or undergone more questioning before being given a Miranda warning by the FBI.
Abdulmutallab was arrested after other passengers pounced on him after, they said, he ignited a device on their jetliner as it approached Detroit.
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