Free Republic

The second-in-command at the Justice Department is leaving his post, officials announced Thursday — making him the third top Obama legal official to announce his departure in recent weeks. Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden will return to private practice in February. White House General Counsel Greg Craig will step down in January, and Phillip Carter, a top Defense Department deputy assistant secretary dealing with detainee issues, has already left. Ogden, who managed the civil division during the Clinton administration, headed up President Barack Obama’s transition into office last year. In a statement, Ogden said that his tenure in the...

A handful of House Republicans did their best on Tuesday to shame Democrats and the Obama administration for its supposed connections to the controversial anti-poverty group ACORN. Republicans also voiced complaints that Democrats are not moving forward with investigations into the organization that is alleged to have committed widespread voter fraud to support Democratic candidates, in violation of the group's tax-exempt status. "ACORN is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Democratic Party," Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said at Tuesday's two-hour long partisan forum attended by eight Republicans but no Democrats. Another source of frustration for Republicans is a legal decision from...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/December/09-ag-1289.html Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, December 1, 2009 United States Transfers a Guantanamo Bay Detainee to France WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice today announced that a detainee has been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the control of the government of France. As directed by the President’s Jan. 22, 2009 Executive Order, the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force conducted a comprehensive review of this case. As a result of that review, the detainee was approved for transfer from Guantanamo Bay. In accordance...

The attorney general has suggested that those who oppose prosecuting these men here in New York City are afraid – that we somehow don’t have the courage to face Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in court. How dare this man, who didn’t have the decency to notify victims’ families of his decision to bring these monsters here, imply that we lack courage. Courage is carrying on after watching your loved ones die, in real time, knowing that they burned to death, were crushed to death, or jumped from 100 flights high. Courage is carrying on, even as we waited, in some cases...

The glorious fruit of giving the 9/11 plotters civilian trials is already beginning to appear. Watch for these guys to walk—after wasting a few taxpayer millions, that is. “Mental State Cited in 9/11 Case,” by Jess Bravin in the Wall Street Journal, November 27 (thanks to Elisa): WASHINGTON—When five defendants are brought before a New York federal judge to face charges for the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the first question may be whether some of them are competent to stand trial at all. Military lawyers for Ramzi Binalshibh, an accused organizer of the 9/11 plot, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi,...

A particularly heinous election day event happened in Philadelphia where members of the New Black Panther Party in black berets, black combat boots, black shirts and black jackets intimidated Caucasian voters with racial insults, slurs and a nightstick. Another party member was accused of managing, directing and endorsing their behavior. The entire event was captured on videotape. In January, the Justice Dept filed a civil complaint against the New Black Panther Party. When the court date arrived In April, a federal judge had ordered default judgments against the Panthers after they refused to respond to the charges or appear in...

WASHINGTON -- When five defendants are brought before a New York federal judge to face charges for the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the first question may be whether some of them are competent to stand trial at all. Military lawyers for Ramzi Binalshibh, an accused organizer of the 9/11 plot, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, the conspiracy's alleged paymaster, say their clients have mental disorders that make them unfit for trial, likely caused or exacerbated by years of harsh confinement in Central Intelligence Agency custody. The issue already has arisen in military-commission proceedings at the military's detention facility at Guantanamo...

The decision by Obama administration officials to bring a terrorist who admits to plotting the Sept. 11 attacks and four others to New York City for criminal trials amounts to a public relations bonanza for terrorists and a disaster for U.S. security interests. At the same time, the trials will present terrorists with a venue and a reason to launch further attacks... They will draw just as much attention if similar to, for instance, the shootings by another Islamic extremist at Fort Hood just a few weeks ago. The trials also will give U.S. enemies valuable insights into vital national...

Obama's Justice Department really knows how to take care of the President's buddies especially the criminal enterprise ACORN. According to the NY Times, the Justice department has directed the Administration to continue to pay ACORN for any services whose contracts were signed before congress cut off funds. Section 163 of Division B (“Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2010”) of Public Law 111-68 does not direct or authorize the Department of Housing and Urban Development to breach a pre-existing binding contractual obligation to make payments to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now or its affiliates, subsidiaries, or allied organizations where doing...

When Eric Holder announced he was moving the 9/11 terrorist trial to New York City, a rash of worries were released, the case will be dismissed because of the waterbording, all the evidence will be thrown out because they weren't read their Miranda rights..etc. The Wall Street Journal is warning of the very real possibility that the two of the terrorists, Ramzi Binalshibh and Mustafa al-Hawsawi may be declared mentally unfit to stand trial. Their attorney's claim that the terrorists have mental disorders caused by harsh CIA treatment. The issue already has arisen in military-commission proceedings at the military's detention...

According to the latest Gallup Poll America believes that Eric Holder is WRONG ! Barack Obama is Wrong ! By an overwhelming 59% to 36% margin, Americans believe that 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his gang of killers should be tried in a military court Republicans (74%) and independents(63%) overwhelmingly believe the trial should be held in a Military Tribunal. The President's Democratic base disagrees as a slight majority (51%) feel the trials should be held in a civilian court

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan to get the “Electric Chair” from our wonderful U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder; “I Didn't Pay A Penny Out Of Pocket For My Power Chair", says Hassan. All of the other Gitmo 9/11 suspects face the same benefits.

A Hayward man was shot and killed in front of his 13-year-old daughter while walking the family's dogs Tuesday evening, the result of a dispute with another man who took exception to one of the dogs sniffing at his leg, police said today.

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee met to question Attorney General Eric Holder about his decision to prosecute Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others in criminal courts rather than military tribunals. As the father of Todd Beamer, who died on United Airlines Flight 93, I was able to attend that hearing. What transpired caused me great concern and shook my confidence in our current administration....How can we be assured that these enemies will be found guilty? Given that criminal courts are now the presumed venue for those captured on the battlefield, will soldiers need to read them their rights at...

For discussion only! Should the criminal case of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (aka KSM) be dismissed? Some potential motions: 1) Judicial Misconduct: Violations of Miranda, violations of Escobedo, as stated by the President of the United States, KSM was "tortured". Violations of the right to a speedy trial. Detained by federal agents for more than 24 hours without being formally charged. 2) Double Jeopardy: In the case of Dr. Jeffrey McDonald: Source:http://www.altlaw.org/v1/cases/534614 Quote: "Since MacDonald was not put to trial before a military tribunal authorized to convict or acquit him, jeopardy never attached. Serfass v. United States, 420 U.S. 377, 387-89,...

Cannot Defend Terror Trial in NYC thelastcrusade.com “Startling!” That’s how one legal expert describes a recent exchange between a Republican senator and the U.S. attorney general regarding the prosecution of Khalid Sheikh Muhammad and suspected terrorists in federal court.Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) in a Judiciary Committee hearing last week asked Attorney General Eric Holder a question that befuddled the nation's top cop could not answer. Sen. Graham asked: "Can you give me a case in United States history where a[n] enemy combatant caught on a battlefield was tried in civilian court?"The inquiry was followed by an extensive silence...

Peter DeQuattro, a 25-year-old cook, exited the Mall Ride at Civic Center Station around 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 8, after his shift at a Lower Downtown bar. His next recollection was writhing on a gurney in the back of an ambulance, an eye swollen shut and adrenaline pumping as EMTs struggled to restrain him. DeQuattro, who is white, was one of the most recent men targeted in a downtown-centered spree of attacks where small groups of black men and youths — many with admitted gang ties — tried to knock out white or Latino men with whacks to the head....

Five men facing trial in the 9/11 attacks will plead not guilty so they can voice their criticisms of U.S. foreign policy, a lawyer for one of the defendants said Sunday. Scott Fenstermaker, a lawyer representing accused terrorist Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, said the men would not deny their role in the 2001 attacks, but "would explain what happened and why they did it." Ali and four other men face a civilian trial just a few blocks from the World Trade Center site in the coming weeks. The men are accused of murdering nearly 3,000 people in the deadliest terrorist...

The five men facing trial in the Sept. 11 attacks will plead not guilty so that they can air their criticisms of U.S. foreign policy, the lawyer for one of the defendants said Sunday. Scott Fenstermaker, the lawyer for accused terrorist Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, said the men would not deny their role in the 2001 attacks but "would explain what happened and why they did it."

... [Geraldine Davie] joined 12 other 9/11 family members at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Obama administration's decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) and four other 9/11 planners not as enemy combatants and war criminals before a military commission, but as civilians in federal court in New York City. They brought with them more than 100,000 signatures gathered by three 9/11 and national security websites--TheBravest.com, 911Familesfor-America.org, and Keep-AmericaSafe.com (on whose board this magazine's editor serves). Holder spoke of the trials as a correction of Bush-era delays and an overdue attempt to seek justice for the victims of...

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder continued the federal government's campaign to reach out to local Arab Americans, saying last night in Detroit that civil rights must be respected even as the country deals with security threats. "For the last nine months, I've heard from Muslim and Arab Americans who feel uneasy about their relationship with their government, who feel isolated and discriminated against by law enforcement," Holder said, according to the Detroit Free Press. "It is inconsistent with what America is all about." Holder spoke at the Detroit Marriott as part of the Advocates and Leaders for Police and Community...

Attorney General Eric Holder adopted a tough-guy pose when he announced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others will be tried in federal court for the most heinous terror attack on Americans in history. “After eight years of delay,” he intoned, “those allegedly responsible for the attacks of September 11 will finally face justice. It is past time to finally act.” Where to begin? The claim that the Bush administration was somehow dilatory sets a new standard for gall, particularly coming from Eric Holder. As former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy points out, “The principal reason there were so few military...

WASHINGTON -- For late-19th-century anarchists, terrorism was the "propaganda of the deed." And the most successful propaganda-by-deed in history was 9/11 -- not just the most destructive, but the most spectacular and telegenic. And now its self-proclaimed architect, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, has been given by the Obama administration a civilian trial in New York. Just as the memory fades, 9/11 has been granted a second life -- and KSM, a second act: "9/11, The Director's Cut," narration by KSM. September 11, 2001 had to speak for itself. A decade later, the deed will be given voice. KSM has gratuitously been...

Barack Obama's suggestion that the alleged September 11 mastermind would be convicted could affect the verdict in the trial, legal experts have warned. Remarks by the US president and Eric Holder, the Attorney General, forecasting a conviction for the Khalid Sheikh Mohammed could create unnecessary delays in the trial, analysts said. Defence lawyers were sure to apply to have the charges dismissed after Mr Obama made an overarching effort to reassure Americans that the decision to put Mohammed on trial at a federal court in New York was sound. "I don't think it will be offensive at all when he's...

Here is video of Sean Hannity talking with Andrew Breitbart, James O'Keefe, and Hannah Giles about the latest ACORN video they have revealed. When asked by Hannity if he has more tapes, Breitbart answered "not only are there more tapes, it's not just ACORN." He then gave a "message" to Attorney General Holder "I want you to know we have more tapes, it's not just ACORN, and we're going to hold out until the next election cycle" unless Holder does "a clean investigation" of ACORN. (Video)

According to the American Historian Will Durant, “Animals claw each other to death, men consume each other by due process of law.” And with that sentiment in mind, it is easy to see why the Obama Administration has made one of the worst foreign policy decisions in American history. Of course, I am talking about the decision to try terrorists for “crimes” in New York City in a criminal court using the laws of our land. Let us count the ways this decision is beyond negligent; it is a gross dereliction of duty:

Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to give a federal court trial instead of a military commission hearing to five Guantanamo detainees the government has linked to the 9/11 attacks has led to criticism that the Obama Administration is transforming the war on terror from a military to law-enforcement affair. This has led some critics to wonder if captured terrorist suspects would have to be read their Miranda rights on being captured by U.S. military or law enforcement representatives. In one of the highlights of Wednesday's Justice Department oversight hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina...

If you were in Washington DC earlier in the week, you would have seen an extra twinkling object in the night sky over the Capitol building. That twinkle was just the Fairy of Stupidity spreading his stupid dust over the office of Senator Pat Leahy. And that fairy dust is working very well on the Senator, maybe too well. Yesterday during the Senate questioning of Attorney General Eric Holder, Senator Lindsey Graham asked the AG whether bin Laden should be afforded due process in courts if he were captured. "The big problem I have is you're criminalizing the war, that...

Here is audio of "The Great One" - Mark Levin - dissecting Attorney General Eric Holder's testimony before a Senate Committee on the decision to bring five 9/11 Conspirators to New York for a civilian trial. Levin commented on the confrontation between Holder and Sen. Lindsey Graham, who questioned Holder on what he intended to do if Osama bin Laden was captured. Would he plan to try Osama bin Laden in civilian court? If so, would he be read his "Miranda rights" immediately and be given a lawyer? Holder was left hemming and hawing with these questions. Actually, Mark Levin...

During Wednesday's Justice Department oversight hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) stumped Attorney General Eric Holder on what should have been a fairly routine question for America's top law enforcement official. Maybe more surprisingly, NPR reported it at its website. As NPR's Frank James noted, "The exchange started with Graham stumping Holder with a question one would have thought the attorney general would have been prepared for." I quite agree (video embedded below the fold with partial transcript, h/t Steve Malzberg): --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R-S.C): Can you give me a case in United States history...

Here is video of the mother of a Flight 93 (Mark Bingham) hero who confronted Attorney General Eric Holder today in the hearing room of the Senate Committee today where he had just testified. She did it firmly but graciously and respectfully. Alice Hoagland told Holder - “I take great exception to the decision to give short shrift to the military commissions and to put the five most heinous criminals and war criminals into court in New York City. It will give these ugly people, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Ramzi Binalshibh especially, very eloquent access to all the media sources...

Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to bring self-professed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four of his alleged co-conspirators to trial in New York City is a disaster. Barring a repetition in civilian court of an earlier confession, it is at least as likely that the terrorist known internationally by his initials, KSM, will be set free as it is that he will be executed for the murder of nearly 3,000 innocent Americans eight years ago.

Eric Holder is confronted by a woman who lost her son on Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. She says she gives great "exception" to Holder's decision to put KSM and other terrorists on trial in New York. She says it makes New York City a much more "dangerous" place.

Live Senate Hearing on holding terrorism trials in NY. Erik Holder being brought in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee

Here is video of Attorney General Eric Holder appearing before a Senate Committee today to defend their decision to try 9/11 conspirators before a civilian court in New York. Holder said he knew this decision would be controversial. Holder said the conspirators could have been tried in either civilian courts, or in military commissions. He said he believes he can present the strongest case in Federal court. This blows out of the water the liberal media's argument for the last three days that Holder decided to do it in civilian court because the "crime" happened on U.S. soil, and should...

WASHINGTON -- Eric Holder -- distinguished prosecutor, judge, foe of public corruption, basketball enthusiast, mentor to disadvantaged youth -- seemed a reassuring choice for attorney general. When Holder affirmed during his confirmation hearing that America remains at war with terrorists, Sen. Lindsay Graham enthused, "I'm almost ready to vote for you right now." So how did Holder become the most destructive member of Barack Obama's Cabinet? Holder launched his tenure by showing disdain for the work of career federal prosecutors when it fit his ideological predispositions. In 2004, a task force from the Eastern District of Virginia investigated allegations of...

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four co-conspirators detained at Gitmo are to face trial in a federal district court in New York City, where the death penalty may be sought. They had been facing trial by a military commission at Gitmo, but President Obama decided that he would prefer that the trial be in a civilian court. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder expressed confidence that the cases were strong, and said the trials would not be impaired by the harsh interrogations of Mohammed and others: I am confident in the ability of our courts to provide these defendants a fair trial,...

Note: The following text is a quote: Home • Briefing Room • Presidential Actions • Executive Orders The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release November 17, 2009 Executive Order - Establishment of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to strengthen the efforts of the Department of Justice, in conjunction with Federal, State, tribal, territorial, and local agencies, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes and other violations relating to the current financial crisis...

“TIME AND LOCATION CHANGE--Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice” Senate Judiciary CommitteeFull Committee DATE: November 18, 2009TIME: 09:30 AMROOM: Dirksen Ground-50 OFFICIAL HEARING NOTICE / WITNESS LIST: November 13th, 2009 NOTICE OF COMMITTEE HEARING TIME CHANGE TO 9:30 A.M. LOCATION CHANGE TO SDG-50 The hearing on "Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice" scheduled by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary for Wednesday, November 18th, will now begin at 9:30 a.m., rather than the previously scheduled time of 10:00 a.m. and will now be held in Room G-50 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, instead of Room 226 of...

On Wednesday, November 18, 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder will attempt to explain his decision to bring war criminal Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to trial in Manhattan's federal courtroom six blocks from Ground Zero. This is our Action Alert to you: Americans, it is time to unite, not as Republicans or Democrats, not as Conservatives or Liberals or Progressives. It is time to unite as CITIZENS. President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have forgotten that their chief duty is the safety and the security of the American people. IT IS TIME FOR US TO REMIND THEM. AG Eric Holder...

If Hillary Clinton had been any less supportive of the Obama admin's decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Manhattan, she might have had to quit her Secretary of State job . . . Clinton damned the decision with faint praise during her Meet The Press appearance today. Asked by host David Gregory where should stood on the matter, her response was the ultra-tepid: "I'm not going to second-guess any decision the Attorney General made." And a bit later: "If the Attorney General and veteran prosecutors think this is the best way to achieve [the desired] outcome, then I think...

Some critics say a civilian trial -- instead of a military tribunal -- for self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his accomplices could end up targeting the Bush administration and its anti-terror policies. The Obama administration, in deciding to try alleged Sept. 11 conspirators in a New York courtroom, has said it is setting its sights on convictions, but some critics say a civilian trial -- instead of a military tribunal -- could end up targeting the Bush administration and its anti-terror policies. One of those five defendants, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, has been at the center of the...

Actual Title: The New York Five: Read the Unclassified Government Files on the Terrorists the White House Plans to Import into America ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The Obama Administration has announced it will bring Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four of his 9/11 co-conspirators – all terrorists currently imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay — to trial in civilian courts in New York City. To read the unclassified files on these terrorists from the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and Department of Defense (DOD), click HERE. Also see this from Bill Kristol this morning, relaying the reaction of the sister of 9/11 victim Charles Burlingame, the...

President Obama’s decision to put Khalid Sheikh Mohammed on trial in New York City along with four others accused of helping destroy the World Trade Center and attack the Pentagon on 9-11 paints a bulls-eye for terrorists right on New York City, their favorite target. Now Obama has identified where the terrorists should focus their energies – on New York City. His decision to bow to political correctness and not to try Mohammed at a secure military base and to try him in a civilian court, according him all the rights of an American citizen, raises important questions: Most importantly,...

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani blasted the Obama administration on Friday for its decision to try five Sept. 11 suspects in New York, saying that such a trial would only encourage terrorists to target the city once again. Earlier Friday, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba would be transported onto U.S. soil to face justice in civilian court. "After eight years of delay, those allegedly responsible for that attacks of September the 11th will finally face justice," Holder said. "They...

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...

November 14, 2009Exclusive: Decision to Try 9/11 Masterminds in New York a Slap in the Face to All Americans Pam Meister In an act that further makes a mockery of the Islamist threat that faces us, the administration has decided that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Gitmo detainees will be sent to New York City to stand trial in a civilian federal court for their role in the 9/11 atrocity. According to Attorney General Eric Holder, prosecutors will seek the death penalty.   No word yet if Lynne Stewart has offered to be on the defense team.  ...

Holder's Hidden Agenda, cont'd . . . Andy McCarthy-November 13, 2009 This summer, I theorized that Attorney General Eric Holder -- and his boss -- had a hidden agenda in ordering a re-investigation of the CIA for six-year-old alleged interrogation excesses that had already been scrutinized by non-partisan DOJ prosecutors who had found no basis for prosecution. The continuing investigations of Bush-era counterterrorism policies (i.e., the policies that kept us safe from more domestic terror attacks), coupled with the Holder Justice Department's obsession to disclose classified national-defense information from that period, enable Holder to give the hard Left the "reckoning"...

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.

Prosecutors rested their capital murder case against Curtis Lavelle Vance, 29, after testimony from the state's deputy medical examiner, who spoke about Pressly's final moments of consciousness. Vance, of Marianna, has pleaded not guilty to murder, rape and burglary. If convicted, he could face the death penalty. Dr. Stephen Erickson said an examination of Pressly's body after her death revealed that her face shattered "like an egg" during the attack. "I could feel crunchiness" while examining Pressly's face, he said. A photo he used showed her nose pushed to one side. Erickson said some type of object likely was used...