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No KSM In NYC: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Other 9/11 Plotters Will Be Tried At Guantanamo Bay
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 4, 2011
Modified Apr 4, 2011
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By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 4, 2011
Modified Apr 4, 2011
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Thank goodness President Obama restarted trials at Guantanamo Bay—because now Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other 9/11 terror plot suspects will be tried there instead of the controversial suggested site of New York City. Attorney General Eric Holder will make the decision today.
NBC New York sees this as "a victory for Mayor Bloomberg," who said that the city would have been able to handle a civil trial for KSM et al., but it would probably cost $200 million for security. Republicans and New York lawmakers weren't happy with the proposal for a civilian trial—Democrats were unhappy how the Obama administration handled it, too—but it's unclear whether a Gitmo trial will happen any time soon (especially with Obama's reelection plans underway!) because liberals really hate Gitmo trials.
A constitutional law expert, American University law professor Stephen Vladeck, told ABC News, "It's alarmingly premature for the government to decide on military commission trials for these defendants when substantial questions remain as to the legality and legitimacy of these tribunals. Sending these high-profile and critically important cases to such a thoroughly untested system, as opposed to the well-established civilian courts which have time and again proved their ability to handle terrorism prosecutions, sends exactly the wrong message about the rule of law in the United States."
Tagged
9/11
9/11 trial
eric holder
gitmo
guantanamo bay
khalid sheikh mohammed
ksm
mayor bloomberg
president obama
terror trial
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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