Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters Tuesday that Faisal Shahzad, who was apprehended Monday evening for a failed attempt to ignite a car bomb in New York’s Times Square on Saturday, will be tried for terrorism and a myriad of other crimes.
“We anticipate charging him with an act of terrorism transcending national borders, attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, use of a destructive device … as well as other assorted explosive charges,” Holder said during a press conference.
Holder noted that the suspect continues to be questioned by federal agents and has thus far provided useful information.
According to an FBI official, Shahzad, who was born in Pakistan but gained U.S. citizenship, was read his Miranda rights, a move that could ultimately prove controversial politically.
“Don’t give this guy his Miranda rights until we find out what it’s all about,” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said during an appearance on a talk show Tuesday morning. “That would be a serious mistake.”
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) denied Tuesday afternoon that there was any legal ambiguity regarding Shahzad’s constitutional rights, and stressed that since Shahzad was an American citizen arrested on U.S. soil, he should be afforded the same basic rights as other Americans.

White House Correspondent Lovisa Frost will be covering today’s White House press briefing with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
Legal Affairs Correspondent Jay Goodman Tamboli will be covering the release of Supreme Court opinions.
The Washington Bureau will be covering the following:
-The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (USCC) and the National Chamber Foundation holds a bipartisan governors summit to highlight the role of free enterprise in job creation.
-Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.; Sen. George LeMieux, R-Fla.; and Jimmy Lyons, director and CEO of the Alabama State Port Authority hold a conference call briefing, to comment on response efforts related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and share observations following a command briefing and a flyover inspection of the spill impact area.

According to statistics released Friday by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at a rate of 3.2% during the first quarter of this year. Yet while some are celebrating the news, the figure represents a drop-off since the last quarter of 2009, when real GDP increased 5.6%. Still, President Barack Obama struck an upbeat tone when he addressed reporters in the White House Rose Garden this morning.
“What this number means is that our economy, as a whole, is in a much better place than it was one year ago…We’re heading in the right direction, we’re moving forward. Our economy is stronger, that economic heartbeat is stronger,” he said, flanked by a pair of CEO’s of clean energy companies who have been able to increase domestic payroll thanks to Recovery Act awards.
In reality, however, the statistics show the country’s economy remains in less-than great shape. During the early months of 2010 businesses built up inventories at a slower rate than the previous quarter, national exports decelerated and housing sales remained sluggish. In addition, prices of goods increased slightly while personal real income levels flat lined. Although consumer spending increased, some experts attribute this uptick to the fact that many Americans who filed taxes early capitalized on their returns.
Based on today’s numbers, the economic forecast for the future isn’t too bright, said Peter Morici, an economist and professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert Smith School of Business.
“Although the inventory rebuild has begun, the pace is slow reflecting tepid sustainable demand for U.S. goods and services…Looking ahead, data are not encouraging. After such a long and damaging recession, we should expect several quarters of 5 percent growth but poor and mistargeted economic policies will force Americans to settle for less.”

By Justine Rellosa- Talk Radio News Service
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) described his Republican colleagues’ refusal to open up Wall Street reform legislation for formal debate as “anti-American.”
“All the talk from the Republicans about wanting to do something about this bill before it gets on the floor is really anti-Senate and anti-American,” Reid said during a press conference Wednesday.
Added the majority leader, “They keep stalling and they keep stalling, and it appears that they are more concerned in taking care of the ‘fat cats’ in Wall Street than they are the people who have been hit so hard.”
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who appeared with Reid, stressed that the bill needs to move forward, but also conceded that the bill will not completely rule-out the possibility of a second financial crisis.
“We can’t prevent another economic crisis from happening in our country, that will happen someday again,” said Dodd. “But we can minimize the impact of that crisis.”

The Supreme Court heard arguments from citizens of Washington state Wednesday who had signed a petition challenging Washington’s civil union law. The petition had garnered enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot, and 53% of voters approved the law. Pro-civil union groups then requested copies of the signed petitions under Washington’s public-record law, and signers sued to stop the release.
The signers argued that the act of signing a petition is a form of political speech and association, and, like voting, it should be protected. However, the Justices seemed skeptical that all petitions and similar acts should be protected from release by the First Amendment. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, noting that her home state of New York makes petition signatures public, asked whether signatures to get a candidate on a ballot would similarly be protected. She then asked whether a government agency could choose to release to the public a letter from citizens urging a policy change.
The signers’ harshest criticism came from Justice Antonin Scalia, who pointed out several times during the 1-hour argument that America for a long time used public voting in elections.
“Running a democracy takes a certain amount of civic courage,” Scalia said.
The attorney general for Washington, arguing in support of the disclosure, admitted that making the names public might discourage some people from signing, but he compared the records to campaign contribution records, which are public for most sizable donations.
Only Justice Samuel Alito seemed seriously concerned about the release, asking the lawyers whether the government could ask for and then disclose the phone numbers, race and religion of petition signers.
Several of the Justices implied that while they would not favor a blanket rule prohibiting disclosure of the signatures, they might be sympathetic to future challenges to specific releases. For example, if a someone could present evidence of real threats against signers, a court might keep the names secret. Today in court the lawyers noted general threats of harassment and boycotts but did not point to any specific, credible threats of violence.
The Court will decide the case by this summer.

Legal Affairs Correspondent Jay Goodman Tamboli will be covering the Supreme Court oral arguments in the case of Doe v. Reed.
The Washington Bureau will cover the following:
- The House Energy and Commerce Committee Energy and the Environment Subcommittee holds a hearing on “Clean Energy Policies That Reduce Our Dependence On Oil.
-The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee National Security and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee holds hearing on “The Rise of the Drones II: Examining the Legality of Unmanned Targeting.”
- The U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Groves holds a news conference to announce how well America responded by mail to the census and how the mail participation rates compare geographically, as well as by demographic characteristics, such as homeownership, income and language spoken.
- The Family Research Council holds a news conference announcing a letter signed by veteran military chaplains opposed to overturning “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Although investment firm Goldman Sachs may be plagued by scandal, its top executive is still making ends meet.
During Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein’s appearance before a hostile Congressional panel Tuesday, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) asked if the executive was still in good financial shape.
“Financially, yes,” Blankfein, who received a $9 million stock bonus in 2009, responded.
“[The American people] recovered,” McCain mused. “You’ve done pretty well. I don’t think that’s the vision most Americans have of how this nation and this economy should function.”
A slate of other executives from the investment firm also appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Subcommittee on Investigation. Each received heated words from the committee’s members. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), the subcommittee chairman, cited “unbridled greed” among the firm’s personnel.
“I hope the executives before us today, and their colleagues on Wall Street, will recognize the harm that their actions have caused to so many of their fellow citizens,” Levin said in an opening statement.
Goldman Sachs initially came under fire after the Securities Exchange Commission accused the firm of committing fraud. The charges state that Goldman Sachs misled investors by essentially betting against their holdings in the housing industry.

Legal Affairs Correspondent Jay Goodman Tamboli will be covering the Supreme Court oral arguments in the case of Monsanto Company v. Geertson Seed Farms.
Correspondent Geoff Holtzman will interview Sam Zamarripa, Co-Founder of the group, “Stop Too Big To Fail.”
The Washington Bureau will be covering the following:
- Remarks from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at the annual membership meeting of the American Hospital Association (AHA) in downtown Washington, D.C.
- House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) holds his weekly pen and pad only news briefing.
- Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and National Auto Dealers Association Chairman Ed Tonkin hold a news conference to discuss concerns about the Financial Services legislation and to announce the introduction of an amendment to protect auto dealers from unnecessary banking regulations.
- Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and other current and former Goldman Sachs officials testify before the Senate Permanent Investigations Subcommittee.
- Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
- Assistant Labor Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Joe Main is among several witnesses who will testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee during a hearing entitled, “Putting Safety First: Strengthening Enforcement and Creating a Culture of Compliance at Mines and Other Dangerous Workplaces.”
- Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) holds a conference call with reporters.

Talk Radio News Correspondent Jack Rice discusses financial regulatory reform with Austan Goolsbee, a member of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers and the chief economist on the President’s Economic Advisory Board. (9:04)

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Speaking this afternoon among a standing room only crowd at New York’s historic Great Hall at Cooper Union, President Barack Obama stressed again the importance of standing together as “one nation.” The Great Hall boasts many historic favorites including President Abraham Lincoln, who once addressed the packed auditorium. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and NY Governor David Paterson were present.
Obama acknowledged the terrible “trial” on New Yorkers due to the financial collapse where more than 8 million people have lost their jobs.
“Countless small businesses have had to shut their doors.  Trillions of dollars in savings has been lost, forcing seniors to put off retirement, young people to postpone college, and entrepreneurs to give up on the dream of starting a company.  And as a nation we were forced to take unprecedented steps to rescue the financial system and the broader economy,” he added.
President Obama stressed that Americans are seeing “hopeful signs,” and living during the fastest national economic growth period in three decades. He pointed to the financial crisis as the main contributor to the economic collapse. He underscored that Wall Street nearly dragged the economy into a full out depression. The outcome, he explained should be unacceptable to all Americans.
“I believe in the power of the free market.  I believe in a strong financial sector that helps people to raise capital and get loans and invest their savings.  But a free market was never meant to be a free license to take whatever you can get, however you can get it.  That is what happened too often in the years leading up to the crisis” he emphasized.
Obama pledged to enact a basic set of “common sense rules” with a push for a comprehensive plan that has already passed Congress and is on its way to the Senate. Through this gradual process of financial reform, Obama underlined how this plan would protect the American people–”with the least amount of collateral damage.”
The plan relieves tax payers from a future financial collapse and places a heavier burden on financial firms to act responsibly. The plan would also add the “Volcker rule” (named after leading American Economist Paul Volcker) which places limits on the size of banks and greater control on rapidly expanding markets.  It would also force financial markets to exercise more transparent and accountable practices. The plan would also ensure financial protection to consumers.
Obama added that the exploitation suffered by consumers across America and the loss of  millions of homes – need not have happened if these protections were in place from the start.
The President called for agencies to be more clear, concise and dedicated to offering better products for consumers.  He cited how overall, shareholders and consumers would gain more power and be allowed to have a say in what happens on Wall Street, in Washington and on main street.