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Rudy Giuliani slams 9/11 trial decision
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani took to three separate TV talk shows Sunday to blast the Obama administration’s decision to send Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other alleged plotters of the Sept. 11 attacks to Manhattan to face a trial in federal court.
“It is an unnecessary advantage to give to terrorists,” Giuliani said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I don’t know why you’d want to give terrorists advantages, and, secondly, it’s an unnecessary risk.”
Giuliani also warned that opting for a civilian court trial over a military commissions proceeding would mean lengthy delays.
“Our federal system has an enormously protracted process that’s going to go on forever. ... It grants more benefits than a military tribunal will grant. There’s always the possibility of acquittal, change of venue,” the ex-mayor said on ABC’s “This Week.”
While Attorney General Eric Holder argued that it is typical to try criminals near the site of their alleged acts, Giuliani said just the opposite. “We generally don’t bring people back to the scene of the crime for justice,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.” “What the Obama administration is telling us loud and clear is that both in substance and reality, the war on terror, from their point of view, is over. We’re no longer going to treat these people as if this was an act of war.”
White House senior adviser David Axelrod said Giuliani’s criticism was “odd,” given his praise for the prosecution of alleged Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, who was sentenced to life in prison by a civilian federal court in Virginia.
“Mayor Giuliani testified in that case, and he heralded the outcome. So he may have changed his view, but we haven’t changed ours,” Axelrod said on CNN.
Giuliani indicated the Virginia trial was the best option at the time because the Bush administration lacked the “choice” to put Moussaoui before a military commission, though he did not explain why.
Bloomberg: NYC terror trial is "Fitting"
Republicans from John McCain to John Boehner are complaining about the grave threats posed to Gotham by the Eric Holder's decision to hold Al Qaeda trials in New York -- but Mayor Mike Bloomberg says the city is ready, willing, able and unafraid.
He said it's "fitting" the trials should take place a few blocks from the site of the attacks.
Bloomberg, in a statement:
“I support the Obama Administration’s decision to prosecute 9/11 terrorists here in New York. It is fitting that 9/11 suspects face justice near the World Trade Center site where so many New Yorkers were murdered. We have hosted terrorism trials before, including the trial of Omar Abdel-Rahman, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. When I spoke to Attorney General Holder earlier today, I told him New York City stands ready to assist the federal court in the administration of justice in any way necessary. I have great confidence that the NYPD, with federal authorities, will handle security expertly. The NYPD is the best police department in the world and it has experience dealing with high-profile terrorism suspects and any logistical issues that may come up during the trials.”
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Sources: Politico, MSNBC, AfterMathnews, Google Maps
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