Posted on 11/13/2009 3:48:30 AM PST by Cindy
Source: 9/11 Terror Detainees Face Trial in N.Y. Friday, November 13, 2009
WASHINGTON — Self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees will be sent to New York to face trial in a civilian federal court, an Obama administration official said Friday.
The official said Attorney General Eric Holder plans to announce the decision later in the morning.
The official is not authorized to discuss the decision before the announcement, so spoke on condition of anonymity.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
FUBO, just FU Barack!
And btw, I’m from NYC. Weeks after the attack, I walked into the kitchen wondering what’s burning. Nothing.
Then I saw the window open and realized it was coming in. From ground zero.
Try to act surprised when he gets off on a techinicality.
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.justice.gov/ag/speeches/2009/ag-speech-091113.html
Attorney General Announces Forum Decisions for Guantanamo Detainees
~ Friday, November 13, 2009
Good morning. Just over eight years ago, on a morning our nation will never forget, nineteen hijackers working with a network of Al Qaeda conspirators around the world launched the deadliest terrorist attacks our country has ever seen. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in those attacks, and in the years since, our nation has had no higher priority than bringing those who planned and plotted the attacks to justice.
One year before, in October 2000, a terrorist attack on the USS Cole killed seventeen American sailors.
Today we announce a step forward in bringing those we believe were responsible for the 9/11 attacks and the attack on the USS Cole to justice.
Five detainees at Guantanamo have been charged before military commissions with participation in the 9/11 plot: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammed Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, Ramzi Bin Al Shibh, Ali Abdul-Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Al Hawsawi. Those proceedings have been stayed since February, as have the proceedings pending in military commissions against four other detainees accused of different crimes. A case in military commissions against the alleged mastermind of the Cole bombing, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, was withdrawn in February.
For the past several months, prosecutors at the Department of Justice have been working diligently with prosecutors from the Pentagon’s Office of Military Commissions to review the case of each detainee at Guantanamo who has been referred for prosecution. Over the past few weeks, I have personally reviewed these cases, and in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, have made determinations about the prosecution of ten detainees now held at Guantanamo, including those charged in the 9/11 plot and the alleged mastermind of the Cole bombing.
Today, I am announcing that the Department of Justice will pursue prosecution in federal court of the five individuals accused of conspiring to commit the 9/11 attacks. Further, I have decided to refer back to the Department of Defense five defendants to face military commission trials, including the detainee who was previously charged in the USS Cole bombing.
The 9/11 cases that will be pursued in federal court have been jointly assigned to prosecutors from the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of Virginia and will be brought in Manhattan in the Southern District of New York. After eight years of delay, those allegedly responsible for the attacks of September the 11th will finally face justice. They will be brought to New York to answer for their alleged crimes in a courthouse just blocks from where the twin towers once stood.
I am confident in the ability of our courts to provide these defendants a fair trial, just as they have for over 200 years. The alleged 9/11 conspirators will stand trial in our justice system before an impartial jury under long-established rules and procedures.
I also want to assure the American people that we will prosecute these cases vigorously, and we will pursue the maximum punishment available. These were extraordinary crimes and so we will seek maximum penalties. Federal rules allow us to seek the death penalty for capital offenses, and while we will review the evidence and circumstances following established protocols, I fully expect to direct prosecutors to seek the death penalty against each of the alleged 9/11 conspirators.
In his speech at the National Archives in May, the President called for the reform of military commissions to ensure that they are a lawful, fair, and effective prosecutorial forum. The reforms Congress recently adopted to the Military Commissions Act ensure that military commission trials will be fair and that convictions obtained will be secure.
I know that the Department of Defense is absolutely committed to ensuring that military commission trials will be consistent with our highest standards as a nation, and our civilian prosecutors will continue to work closely with military prosecutors to support them in that effort.
In each case, my decision as to whether to proceed in federal courts or military commissions was based on a protocol that the Departments of Justice and Defense developed and that was announced in July. Because many cases could be prosecuted in either federal courts or military commissions, that protocol sets forth a number of factors – including the nature of the offense, the location in which the offense occurred, the identity of the victims, and the manner in which the case was investigated – that must be considered. In consultation with the Secretary of Defense, I looked at all the relevant factors and made case by case decisions for each detainee.
It is important that we be able to use every forum possible to hold terrorists accountable for their actions. Just as a sustained campaign against terrorism requires a combination of intelligence, law enforcement and military operations, so must our legal efforts to bring terrorists to justice involve both federal courts and reformed military commissions. I want to thank the members of Congress, including Senators Lindsay Graham, Carl Levin and John McCain who worked so hard to strengthen our national security by helping us pass legislation to reform the military commission system.
We will continue to draw on the Pentagon’s support as we bring cases against the alleged 9-11 conspirators in federal court. The Justice Department has a long, successful history of prosecuting terrorists for their crimes against our nation, particularly in New York. Although these cases can often be complex and challenging, federal prosecutors have successfully met these challenges and have convicted a number of terrorists who are now serving lengthy sentences in our prisons. And although the security issues presented by terrorism cases should never be minimized, our marshals, court security officers, and prison officials have extensive experience and training dealing with dangerous defendants, and I am confident they can meet the security challenges posed by this case.
These detainees will not be transferred to the United States for prosecution until all legal requirements are satisfied, including those in recent legislation requiring a 45 day notice and report to the Congress. I have already spoken to Governor Paterson and Mayor Bloomberg and am committed to working closely with them to ensure that all security and related concerns are properly addressed. I have every confidence that we can safely hold these trials in New York, as we have so many previous terrorism trials.
For the many Americans who lost friends and relatives in the attacks of September 11, 2001 and on the USS Cole, nothing can bring those loved ones back. But they deserve the opportunity to see the alleged plotters of those attacks held accountable in court, an opportunity that has been too long delayed. Today’s announcements mark a significant step forward in our efforts to close Guantanamo and to bring to justice those individuals who have conspired to attack our nation and our interests abroad.
For over two hundred years, our nation has relied on a faithful adherence to the rule of law to bring criminals to justice and provide accountability to victims. Once again we will ask our legal system, in two venues, to rise to that challenge. I am confident it will answer the call with fairness and justice.
But that is not what the Military Commissions Act says. It allows for military tribunal ONLY, and these defendants have been charged under that that Act. Holder's actions are unconstitutional. Congress and Congress alone can set jurisdiction for these crimes (Article III, Section 2). And Congress has not authorized jurisdiction in US civilian court for this.
This case will be tossed, and Holder knows it.
I’m so sorry 444 Flyer.
...and all our intelligence exposed OR our intelligence won’t be exposed and the case(s) will be tossed.
This is a very sad day in history.
That is shocking. Seems like you’ve read the act and know the details.
Anyway, too bad Bush didn’t resolve this before he left office.
I wonder how long it will be till someone asks Hillary what she thinks of sending them to New York. I won’t be holding my breath.
Quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2386569/posts
Daniel Pearl’s dad is sickened by Obama’s 9/11 trial decision
NYPost ^ | November 14, 2009 | CARL CAMPANILE
Posted on November 14, 2009 1:28:57 PM PST by GOPGuide
The father of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl slammed the Obama administration’s decision to hold a public trial for admitted 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed — who boasted of killing his son in Pakistan.
Judea Pearl said he was “sick to the stomach” when he heard that the Justice Department decided to prosecute Mohammed in Manhattan federal court.
“I don’t want to hear every morning in the papers what KSM did,” Pearl told The Post last night. “Danny was killed once. Now he will be killed 10 times a day. Leave him alone.”
VIDEO: 9/11 SUSPECTS TO BE TRIED IN NY
His son’s beheading in 2002 was caught on a gruesome video that shocked the world.
“The 21st century saw three shocks,” Pearl said. “The first was 9/11. The second was the killing of my son. And the third was the shock today.”
The reporter’s outraged father, a UCLA professor, said a public trial would allow the admitted mass murderer to “boast about his cruelty” and encourage other terrorists to inflict harm.
Pearl said the prosecution of Mohammed should be done in closed session to avoid giving terrorists a platform.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2386627/posts
White House: IL prison eyed for Guantanamo inmates
AP ^ | 11/14/2009 41 minutes ago | TAMMY WEBBER
Posted on November 14, 2009 4:08:27 PM PST by Former Military Chick
Edited on November 14, 2009 4:09:57 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
CHICAGO — A White House official says the Obama administration is considering buying a northwestern Illinois prison to house a limited number of detainees from Guantanamo Bay, along with federal inmates.
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
Note: The following text is a quote:
STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN McCAIN
November 13, 2009
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John McCain (R AZ) issued the following statement on the Obama Administration’s decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) and four other Al-Qaeda terrorists suspected of planning and executing the September 11th attacks in the United States Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York:
“I am extremely disappointed with the Obama Administration’s decision to try in U.S. civilian courts the Al-Qaeda terrorists who planned, supported, and conducted the September 11th attacks. These terrorists are not common criminals. They are war criminals, who committed acts of war against our citizens and those of dozens of other nations.
“Terrorists who have declared war against our country should be treated as war criminals and tried for their crimes through military tribunals. In a letter sent to Congress just last week, hundreds of families of victims of the September 11th attacks urged the Administration to try these terrorists in military tribunals, and I fully respect and agree with their position. I have worked tirelessly with my colleagues in Congress and with the Obama Administration to make our military tribunals system better able to dispense justice efficiently and fairly while protecting secure information. If military tribunals are suitable for the terrorists who attacked our sailors aboard the U.S.S. Cole, as the Obama Administration has decided, then military tribunals are certainly the right venue to try the Al-Qaeda terrorists, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who murdered thousands of innocent civilians on September 11, 2001.
“Today’s decision sends a mixed message about America’s resolve in the fight against terrorism. We are at war, and we must bring terrorists to justice in a manner consistent with the horrific acts of war they have committed.”
###
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil//news/newsarticle.aspx?id=56690
Trial Decision Brings Guantanamo Closer to Closing
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Nov. 13, 2009 – Today’s decision to pursue the prosecution of 10 detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, paves the way toward resolving the disposition of others there and eventually closing the detention facility, a senior Defense Department official said today.
Defense and Justice Department officials announced that five detainees accused of conspiring to commit the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks will be tried in federal court in New York. Another five, one of whom is accused of orchestrating the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, will be charged in military commissions.
“Bringing terrorists to justice is an integral part of our national security,” Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said in a release after the announcement. “The reform of military commissions and today’s announcement are important steps in that direction.”
President Barack Obama signed an executive order in January that suspended the commissions and ordered the detention facility closed within a year. Congress recently approved reforms to the Military Commissions Act, allowing officials to move forward with determining how and where the detainees are tried.
Officials from both departments said that the decisions announced today reflected a coordinated and cooperative effort and signaled a significant step toward closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
“The announcement today in terms of the prosecutable detainees was basically Round 1,” a senior Defense Department official said on background. “I think now that we have the process in place [and] we have the prosecution teams in place, … the process will move along at a fairly efficient rate.”
While the five accused of the 9/11 attacks are going to be prosecuted in federal court, and the other five are going to resume their military commissions, officials were quick to point out that the commissions are not a lesser form of justice.
“The whole effort that we went through with the Congress to reform military commissions was for the purpose of making the process more robust, more credible, more sustainable upon appeal,” the official said. “I think that we made some very significant reforms in that regard so that commissions would not be perceived as second-class justice.”
Each case was reviewed by representatives of both departments, and the trial venue was decided based on many factors. Two things considered were the identity of the victims and the location of the offenses, the official said.
“The Cole bombing was an offense directed at the United States Navy and the victims were sailors, so that was the type of offense that we think should be tried in a … military commissions context,” the defense official said.
The defense official could not say how quickly the disposition of the other detainees will be decided, or when and where the military commissions will resume, but he did say that senior officials are anxious to get the process rolling.
“I think that you’ll see more decisions like the decision today further down the road,” he said. “Certainly, today’s announcement is not the last one.”
The five detainees whose prosecution will be pursued in federal court for the Sept. 11 terror attacks are Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi. The Justice Department intends to pursue a prosecution against them in the Southern District of New York as soon as possible.
The detainees will be transferred to the United States for trial after all legal requirements, including a 45-day notice and report to Congress, are satisfied, and consultations with state and local authorities have been completed, officials said.
Related Sites:
Defense Department News Release
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=13121
IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 889-09
November 13, 2009
Departments of Defense and Justice Announce Forum Decisions for Ten Guantanamo Bay Detainees
The Departments of Defense and Justice today announced forum decisions for ten detainees at Guantanamo Bay whose cases were previously charged in military commissions, including five detainees accused of conspiring to commit the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks and a detainee accused of orchestrating the attack on the USS Cole.
“Bringing terrorists to justice is an integral part of our national security,” said Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates. “The reform of Military Commissions and today’s announcement are important steps in that direction.”
“Today we announce a step forward in bringing those we believe were responsible for the 9/11 attacks and the attack on the USS Cole to justice,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “For over two hundred years, our nation has relied on a faithful adherence to the rule of law to bring criminals to justice and provide accountability to victims. Once again we will ask our legal system to rise to that challenge, and I am confident it will answer the call with fairness and justice.”
The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, has determined that the United States government will pursue a prosecution in federal court against five detainees who are currently charged in military commissions with conspiring to commit the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 individuals. These detainees are Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi.
The Department of Justice intends to pursue a prosecution against these five individuals in the Southern District of New York as soon as possible. Prosecution of these detainees will be co-managed by teams from the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of Virginia. These detainees will be transferred to the United States for trial after all legal requirements, including a 45-day notice and report to Congress, are satisfied, and consultations with state and local authorities have been completed. The detainees will be housed in a federal detention facility in New York, which includes maximum security units that have securely held terrorism suspects in the past. Once federal charges are brought against these detainees, military commission charges now pending against them will be withdrawn.
The Attorney General has also determined, in consultation with the Secretary, that the prosecutions of five other Guantanamo Bay detainees who were charged in military commissions may be resumed in that forum. These detainees include the detainee accused of orchestrating the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole, which killed 17 U.S. sailors and injured dozens of others, and a detainee who is accused of participating in an al-Qaeda plot to blow up oil tankers in the Straits of Hormuz.
Secretary Gates and Attorney General Holder are confident that detainees now held at Guantanamo Bay can be detained securely in U.S. detention facilities and that their trials can be conducted effectively and safely in the United States, whether in federal court or in a military commission.
Over the past decade, the Department of Justice has successfully prosecuted many terrorism defendants in our federal courts. Today, there are more than 200 inmates who have a history of or nexus to international terrorism, who have been convicted in federal courts, and are now housed securely in Bureau of Prisons facilities. The Department has already transferred one former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Ahmed Ghailani, to the Southern District of New York to face trial for his alleged role in the 1998 East Africa Embassy bombings.
With regard to military commissions, the reforms Congress recently adopted to the Military Commissions Act will ensure that commission trials are fair, effective, and lawful. Military commissions have been used by the United States to try those who have violated the law of war for more than two centuries. Further, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld Congress’ power to determine the need for military commissions and to provide their jurisdiction and procedures, and this Congress has recently reiterated its support for commissions in adopting important reforms to the Military Commissions Act.
Finally, the Secretary and Attorney General understand and share the concern of the victims of terrorist attacks about the length of time it has taken to bring the perpetrators to justice. Justice has been delayed far too long. Prosecutors in both departments are committed to moving forward with all these cases as quickly as possible and to working together to see that justice is served, consistent with our nation’s values.
Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates coauthored with Zbigniew Brzezinski the 2004 Council on Foreign Relations paper "Iran: Time for a New Approach" calling for negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran.Candidate Obama was already sending advisor Brzezinski to Syria.
Gates' fellow CIA-veteran Brennan spouts a dangerous line, warns Daniel Pipes.
I posit Obama as an Islamo-Communist in the closet, in the White House.
Good graphic Phil. My chickens are already asleep or I’d post them! Lol
DEMOCRATS: Obama, Holder and now Moran...
#
tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/11/dem-congressman-its-unamerican-to-oppose-us-terror-trials.php
Dem Congressman: ‘It’s Unamerican’ To Oppose U.S. Terror Trials
Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 13, 2009, 6:36PM
SNIPPET: “Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) has strong words for the Republicans opposing Attorney General Eric Holder’s plan to bring five 9/11 suspects to New York City to face trial.
“They see this as an opportunity to demagogue,” he said. “They will seize on any opportunity to do that, and that means they’ll even take a stand that’s un-American.””
SNIPPET: “Moran, who represents the Congressional district closest to D.C., was among the only members of Congress to advocate President Obama’s plan to send prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to the U.S. so the military prison could be shut down. Obama first proposed the idea shortly after being elected and most in Congress rejected the plan, saying that bringing terror suspects to this country would endanger American lives.
Today, many politicians raised those same fears. Moran dismissed them.”
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