White House Defends Treatment of American Taliban

ByABC News
December 19, 2001, 11:33 AM

Dec. 19 -- The White House today defended the treatment of American Taliban fighter John Walker, saying he does not have the constitutional right to a lawyer while he is in military custody.

Walker's parents and his hired attorney have demanded that he be allowed access to legal representation while being questioned about his involvement in the military conflict in Afghanistan. In a statement released Tuesday, James Brosnahan said the 20-year-old had been questioned for at least 16 days outside the presence of a lawyer and that he deserves the same Constitutional rights as any American citizen.

But today, the White House said Walker does not have those same Constitutional rights because he is not being questioned by law enforcement officials yet.

"So long as he is in military custody and is not beingquestioned for law enforcement purposes he does not have theconstitutional right to a lawyer," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. "Under the Geneva Convention military authorities may question prisoners for information that is of military value in the conduct of the war without the presence of a lawyer."

Brosnahan also complained that, outside a dictated letter, Walker's parents have not been allowed to have access to their son. He repeated the family's plea to withhold judgment until all the facts are known.

"We still do not know what the facts are," Brosnahan said in Tuesday's statement. "All we've heard is speculation and rumor. No one from the outside, other than the Red Cross, has seen John. Whatever the accusations, John has Constitutional rights. Getting the facts, allowing an accused person to talk with his attorney, ensuring that our system operates fairly regardless of the allegation that is what the Constitution was designed to protect."

Not a Simple Case

Walker is recuperating from a gunshot wound and cooperating with authorities on a ship in the Arabian Sea after U.S. officials decided to move him from a Marine base in southern Afghanistan last week. Authorities say he is giving them information, and they are particularly interested in what he may know about the failed prison revolt at Mazar-e-Sharif where CIA operative Johnny Michael Spann was killed.