Litigation

Bloomberg: Move Terror Trial from Manhattan

By Peter Hardin

The Obama administration’s decision to try the accused 9/11 terror mastermind  in civilian court in New York has drawn new pushback.

On Wednesday, New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (photo at right) told reporters he wanted to see the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed moved from downtown Manhattan. ?It would be great if the federal government could find a site that didn?t cost a billion dollars, which using downtown will,? the New York Times quoted him as saying. Bloomberg said regarding trial venues, “The suggestion of a military base is probably a reasonably good one.”

Two Democratic senators, James Webb of Virginia and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, earlier joined three Republican colleagues and one independent in urging the Justice Department to abandon plans for trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and co-defendants in New York.

“The attacks of 9/11 were acts of war, and those who planned and carried out those attacks are war criminals,” they wrote in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, according to the Times.  Since the Christmas Day bombing attempt of a Detroit-bound airliner, a campaign by Republicans and conservative activists opposed to prosecuting terror suspects in the criminal justice system has heated up.

You can read more about detainee issues from Gavel Grab, or Justice at Stake?s publication ?Courting Danger? outlining the difficulty in preserving constitutional liberties while increasing preparedness for future acts of terror. The JAS site also has a web page on Civil Liberties and National Security.

Full post as published by The Gavel on January 27, 2010 (boomark / email).