Sen. Doug Jones on Hoda Muthana: ‘We Ought To Consider Bringing Her Back To Face Justice’

MARGARET BRENNAN: We’re now joined by Alabama’s Democratic Senator Doug Jones. He’s also the author of a new book: “Bending Towards Justice: The Birmingham Church Bombing That Changed The Course Of Civil Rights.” Senator, I want to ask you about the book, but first let’s ask- let’s talk about this young woman—

SENATOR DOUG JONES: Sure.

MARGARET BRENNAN: because she is from Alabama—

SEN. JONES: Yep.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Have you spoken to the White House about her case?

SEN. JONES: No I have not. You know her citizenship is tied up with the State Department right now. They’ll have that hearing on that. You know, but no one is going to welcome this person back to the United States. That’s just a mischaracterization. I do think we ought to consider bringing her back to face justice. We do it all the time with terrorists, with other people that get- commit crimes against the United States. I think it sends a kind of a bad message if we give someone a “Get Out Of Jail Free Card” just because they go to the Middle East.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But Secretary Pompeo claims she has no basis to claim U.S. citizenship but she did have a U.S. passport.

SEN. JONES: She did. I- I- I think that that’s going to be decided in the courts and within the State Department. My concern is just the message that we’re sending by not bringing someone back to face American justice. I have an abiding faith, you know I’m an old federal prosecutor myself and I have this faith in our system of justice to do the right thing and make sure that justice is imposed. And I think that that’s what we ought to be looking at here.