CNN "Erin Burnett Outfront" - Transcript: Al Libi and Guantanamo

Interview

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OUTFRONT, Senator Kelly Ayotte, she says al Libi needs to go to Gitmo for as long as it takes.

Senator, great to have you with us. We appreciate it.

I believe my understanding is you want al Libi off that ship and send to Guantanamo. How come?

SEN. KELLY AYOTTE (R), NEW HAMPSHIRE: Well, actually, most importantly, what I want to make sure is right now, he is on a ship. He should go to Guantanamo so that we can have a lengthy interrogation of him. Having him on a ship is not a position where he should be because that way they may have to limit interrogation.

Make no mistake: al Libi is an important player. He's probably the most important capture we've made in years. He had two decades of al Qaeda involvement. He has direct connections and closeness to bin Laden but also al Zawahiri, the current leader of al Qaeda.

So, my point is, we need to maximize the intelligence gathering, putting him on a ship seems more like a political decision as opposed to bringing him to Guantanamo for a lengthy interrogation. We know that these interrogations can take more than days. They take months and years to get the information someone like al Libi would have.

BURNETT: And you're saying that's not possible on board a ship?

AYOTTE: Well, a ship is a temporary facility. I had asked -- Warsame was another member of al Qaeda that they put on a ship in 2011. I asked Secretary Panetta about that and other leaders. And, you know, ships are not a permanent place where we detain people. That's what we have Guantanamo Bay for, for the detention and interrogation.

BURNETT: And let me ask but the Gitmo issue.

AYOTTE: Sure.

BURNETT: We have a special report coming up on this coming up in terms of some of the people who have released, you know, returning to terrorist acts. Obviously, there's a host of issues. We've had the hunger strike that's been going on, and once the detainees are there, countries that they're from don't want to accept them when they get back.

You've talk about people returning to terror. The United States -- you don't have prisons in the United States that are willing to take these people.

It seems to be an intractable problem. Do you really want to add more people to Guantanamo?

AYOTTE: Well, Erin, Guantanamo is there right now. It is a top ranked detention facility. Yes, the people who have been released under both administrations, there's a 29 percent reengagement rate where they've gotten back into battle against us. So, we've got to be very careful about releasing people from Guantanamo.

That said, right now, it is the detention facility that exists. To put someone on a ship, what's the reason for that, when we should put him there? If it's (ph) a decision to change the location of our detention facility, people can be transferred.

But again, Guantanamo exists, I support keeping it open. And why have someone on a ship? Because last time Warsame, the interrogation lasted about 60 days on a ship. We need a lot longer than 60 days to make sure that we get all the information that someone like al Libi, who is a core member of al Qaeda, has about the al Qaeda, also his association with Zawahiri.

And let's not forget, we captured him in Libya. What does he know about our attack on the consulate? Does he know about that?

BURNETT: Well, that's a fair point. No one has been accountable for that attack yet at this point, or have been held accountable.

But what about this issue of Guantanamo versus the civilian courts, you know, enemy combatant? Since 9/11, there's been 400 prosecutions of terror-related cases in federal courts in the U.S. As you know, conviction rate 90 percent according to the Department of Justice, which is darn good because over the same time frame, there are seven successful convictions in military court. So, is it --

AYOTTE: Well, I think --

BURNETT: Yes, go ahead.

AYOTTE: Erin, I think that's a little bit misleading because the administration has been very reluctant to try people in military commission.

That said, this individual al Libi the issue is not whether he gets tried in federal court. He was indicted in federal court. The 2006 Military Commission Law, the offenses that he committed were before that. So, he could get tried in federal court. That's not the issue for me here.

The issue is he needs to go to Guantanamo first and be fully interrogated for as long as our intelligence officials deem necessary to get the information and protect our country.

BURNETT: Thanks very much to you, Senator Ayotte.

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