[Excerpt: "Michigan's two U.S. senators and its 15 U.S. House members wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Thursday, seeking assurances the federal government will pay for security at the trial of a man accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner. "]
Chicago Tribune News
August 2, 2010
by David N. Goodman
Michigan's two U.S. senators and its 15 U.S. House members wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Thursday, seeking assurances the federal government will pay for security at the trial of a man accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner.
The letter from the 17 lawmakers told Napolitano her earlier responses were "insufficient."
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab of Nigeria awaits trial in U.S. District Court in Detroit. He's accused of trying to set off a bomb hidden in his underwear aboard a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Christmas Day last year. A status conference for lawyers before Judge Nancy G. Edmunds is scheduled Sept. 13.
The lawmakers criticized Napolitano's earlier response that funding for trial security could come from a the Urban Areas Security Initiative -- which didn't get congressional funding.
"There is no question the feds should handle a trial of this magnitude," Republican Rep. Fred Upton said in an accompanying statement.
"We are writing to ensure that the Department of Homeland Security has a plan to coordinate with state and local government in Michigan so that all necessary security is provided in the event of a trial," the lawmakers said in the letter.
A Homeland Security spokeswoman declined to comment on the letter Thursday.
"The department will respond directly to the members of Congress, rather than via the media," Amy Kudwa told The Associated Press.
They said the U.S. government "needs to be completely clear" that it will ensure security in and near the courthouse and "bear the full cost of providing this security."
Abdulmutallab has been cooperating with investigators, discussing his contacts in Yemen and providing intelligence in multiple terrorism investigations, according to U.S. officials. So far, there's been no announcement of a plea agreement that would make a trial unnecessary.
"This trial has both national and global implications, and the Department of Homeland Security should provide the resources necessary to protect the people of Detroit and southeast Michigan," Sen. Debbie Stabenow said in a statement.
The letter was signed by Democratic Sens. Stabenow and Carl Levin; Democratic Reps. John Dingell, Bart Stupak, Sander Levin, Dale Kildee, John Conyers, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, Gary Peters and Mark Schauer; and Republican Reps. Upton, Candice Miller, Vern Ehlers, Thaddeus McCotter, Mike Rogers, Dave Camp and Pete Hoekstra.
It asks for a response from Napolitano by Aug. 28.
