CNN 2010-05-20

We are hearing now from a suspected terrorist in his own words.  CNN has obtained two e-mails from Faisal Shahzad, you know, the man charged with the failed car bombings of New York's Times Square.

Well, Shahzad voiced his frustrations 1 with the state of the Muslim world and sought a way to, quote, "fight back."  One e-mail was sent to a large group of people four years ago.  The other sent to a slightly smaller group as recent as last year.

The FBI has read the e-mails and interviewed some of those who received them and according to court documents, Shahzad has admitted to the failed attack and that he recently received bomb-making training in Pakistan.

Remember it was just two weeks ago today that Faisal Shahzad was taken into custody 2 as he was trying to flee the country.  But during that time, he has not appeared in court a single time.

It's really an exceptional situation and CNN's Allan Chernoff has been looking into it.

The legal clock began ticking Monday night May 3rd at 11:45 pm when Faisal Shahzad was arrested here at Terminal 4 of JFK airport.  Customs and Border Patrol agents pulled Shahzad off of an Emirates plane that was about to depart for Dubai.

The US Attorney's Office said Shahzad would appear before a judge the next day.

Early the next morning, media was staked out, hoping to see the alleged 3 Times Square bomber 4 at the US courthouse.  They kept waiting and waiting for Shahzad's appearance, called a presentment before Judge Kevin Fox.

But as reporters were waiting, federal agents were making progress interrogating 5 Shahzad, even after reading him his Miranda rights to remain silent and consult an attorney.

And by the end of the day, the US attorney was doing an about- face.  There would be no court appearance for Shahzad that day.

I don't know of another time this has happened.  I haven't heard of another time that this has happened.

In all criminal prosecutions 6 the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial," begins the 6th Amendment 7.  Shahzad is a US citizen.  Are his rights being violated? Not at all, according to Manhattan's US attorney.

He has waived 8 his right to speedy presentment and he has waved that right every day and has done so voluntarily.

That criminal procedure, experts say, is easing the way for prosecutors 9 to gain valuable information from Shahzad since there is no court-ordered detention 10 for him.

Defendants 11 awaiting an initial court appearance are often held here at the Metropolitan 12 Correctional Center which is right across the street from the US courthouse.  But former prosecutors and veteran defense 13 attorneys say it's unlikely that Shahzad is staying here.

They say the government is almost certainly providing him with much more comfortable accommodations.

Is it likely they've got him in some hotel?

I bet they do have him in a hotel. Again, I can't give you the specific name of the hotel because I don't know.  But they do have him in a hotel.  He's in a room, he's probably not alone in a room.  And I would say there would be an agent there 24/7.

Former federal agents tell CNN they have kept defendants in drug and terror cases at well-guarded hotels outside of Manhattan.  Even a kind of safe house is a possibility.  The FBI says only Shahzad is in a secure location.

Shahzad does have the right at any time to say he wants to appear before a judge.  But if he doesn't, the US attorney says they'll keep Shahzad out of court as he has been for 14 days and counting as long as he's useful.

At such time that he ceases to continue to cooperate or we've gotten all the information that is necessary to do our job in protecting the public, he'll go out to court.