Feinstein Statement on Guilty Plea of Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame

Statement

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) released the following statement after the Justice Department announced a guilty plea by Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, a Somali charged with aiding terrorist groups al-Shabaab and al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP):

"I welcome the announcement that Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame has pleaded guilty to nine separate federal charges for his activities on behalf of two terrorist groups, al-Shabaab in Somalia and al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen.

"Warsame not only fought on behalf of al-Shabaab in Somalia, but he was a weapons trainer who served as al-Shabaab's emissary to AQAP and arranged for al-Shabaab to purchase weapons directly from AQAP. Many of these charges carry a maximum sentence of life in federal prison, which currently incarcerate hundreds of international terrorists.

"The Senate Intelligence Committee has been kept informed of the intelligence produced by Warsame since his capture on April 19, 2011. Warsame provided valuable intelligence during both his two-month interrogation consistent with the Army Field Manual and once he arrived in New York and waived his Miranda rights.

"I would like to congratulate the national security professionals involved in this case for the successful capture, interrogation and prosecution of this international terrorist. This case demonstrates once again the strength of our federal criminal courts.

"I am pleased that Warsame will join the list of more than 400 convicted terrorists who have been tried in federal courts in the United States since 9/11."

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