Posted on 01/29/2010 4:06:42 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY
The Obama administration has abandoned its plan to put Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, on trial in Lower Manhattan, according to administration officials.
The reversal marks the latest setback for an administration that has been buffeted at every turn as it seeks to close the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. And without the backdrop of Ground Zero for a trial, the administration will also lose some of the rich symbolism associated with its attempt to forge a new approach to handling high-value al-Qaeda detainees.
"New York is out," said an administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the decision had not yet been officially announced. "We're considering other options."
The administration was facing a surge of political opposition to hosting the trial in New York. That opposition crystallized in recent days when New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, an early supporter of holding the trial in the city, said the security and financial costs were too great.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
DUH....
If they are unwavering in their decision to try these enemy combatants in civilian federal court, their options are somewhat limited. Federal law gives very little, if any flexibility with respect to where these trials may be held. And, what flexibility there is, likes squarely with the defense, and not the government.
The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedures (FRCP) state that the defendants must be tried in the district in which they committed their crimes. Moreover, the only litigant that the FRCP allows to petition for a change of venue - for either convenience or prejudice - is the defendant and explicitly not the government.
It's my understanding that this indictment has already been filed in the the lower District of New York, which further complicates matters. Obama, and his administration, are acting like he's king. He's not. He's already set a chain of events in motion that will be difficult to unwind. He's an idiot, and Holder's worse. They've got a mess on their hands.
While I don’t support trying them there, I would support hanging them there. Publicly.
Thanks for the information.
Guess they have to just him go then.
The list, ping
Don't think for a minute that's not a possibility. John Gotti won no less than 4 mistrials and I think more than 4 acquittals for racketeering charges before he was finally convicted.
An acquittal is not an impossibility, and a mistrial is even more likely. What then?
“Don’t think for a minute that’s not a possibility….An acquittal is not an impossibility, and a mistrial is even more likely. What then? “
Guess that is the $64,000 question, best asked to the President and his stalwart Attorney General.
Maybe I’m misunderstanding, but aren’t they missing the point of the complaint by simply moving location rather than moving from civilian to military?
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