SPIN, BABY, SPIN – AT 5:28 P.M. ET:  The Justice Department spin machine has been at full throttle today, demonstrating that the department does one thing extremely well.  Its skill at blurring is unparalleled.  From The Washington Post:

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the man accused of trying to blow up a jet airplane on Christmas Day, has been providing FBI interrogators with useful intelligence about his training and contacts since last week, Obama administration sources said Tuesday.

Strange, they didn't mention this earlier. 

The fact is, this is garbage in, garbage out.  He can be singing like a canary, but the canary now has a lawyer to give him the notes. 

Separately, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III told senators at an intelligence committee hearing that Abdulmutallab was giving information to investigators. Mueller did not elaborate.

Information?  Like how much he wants for the book rights? 

In recent days, two law enforcement sources said, Abdulmutallab has told authorities more about where he trained overseas and others he met there -- leads that the FBI has shared with other members of the U.S. intelligence community. Investigators are following up to corroborate the information.

That is not the issue.  Maybe he'll name some names and give the address of the local Al Qaeda gym.  The issue is what he might have revealed had he been treated correctly, as an enemy combatant, and interrogated for days without Clarence Darrow writing the script. 

February 3, 2010