White House still undecided on terror trial location

When a lower Manhattan court was announced in November 2009 as the location for Khalid’s trial, independent New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared it was “fitting” Khalid and his fellow accused terrorists should be tried just blocks away from the World Trade Centre site where so many citizens were murdered in 2001.

A change of heart by Bloomberg over the past few weeks has done most to force a rethink in the White House.

Bloomberg now accepts that a lengthy trial in lower Manhattan, close to the financial district, would pose a security risk, cost too much and cause severe disruption to the city.

Concerns have been gathering steam for weeks since New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly laid out the logistics of security to local politicians and business groups, and made it clear the trial markedly increased lower Manhattan’s risk as a terrorist target.

The police chief’s audience appears to have blanched at the prospect of constant police lockdowns, car searches, dog patrols and rooftop snipers.

One estimate of the cost of security and disruption was as high as $200 million a year for a trial that could last several years.

Bloomberg remained behind the New York trial until last week, when he met a group of federal judges and one raised the issue of security.

Now, the Obama administration says the matter is under review. Senior White House advisor David Axelrod spoke on NBC’s Meet the Press television program.

“We have made no decisions on that yet,” he said. “The president believes that we need to take into consideration what the local authorities are saying. But he also believes that we ought to bring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and all others who are involved in terrorist acts to justice, swift and sure.”

The proposed New York venue has run into opposition from some members of President Obama’s Democratic Party. Indiana Senator Evan Bayh spoke on the Fox News Sunday television program about this particular.

“I do not think we should spend any more money than is absolutely necessary to try these guys [terror suspects],” he said. “We ought to try them quickly. We ought to impose harsh sentences, including the death penalty for people who have killed Americans. Those are my criteria.”

Other Democrats say that costs should not be the determining factor when deciding a trial location.

But it is not just the proposed venue that is generating debate. Many Republicans say accused terrorists who have been classified as enemy combatants should face justice at military, rather than civilian trials.

Also appearing on Fox News Sunday, Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan was critical of Attorney General Holder’s handling of the matter.

“[Holder] is making the wrong decisions,” he said. “And he is going to give Khalid Sheikh Mohammed a propaganda tool that is going to help the terrorists and not help U.S. citizens.”

Ryan and other Republicans have argued that civilian trials for accused terrorists would invite sensationalized media coverage and allow defendants to manipulate and exploit constitutional and procedural safeguards that are built into America’s legal system.

The latest high-profile terror suspect is a Nigerian man accused of attempting to blow up a U.S.-bound jet with explosives hidden under his clothing on Christmas Day.

Republicans have been critical of the Obama administration’s handling of the case after media reports surfaced that the suspect had been advised of his right to refuse to answer U.S. interrogators’ questions less than an hour after the interrogation began.

“We need to find out from terrorists, like the Christmas Day bomber, what else he knows [about terror plots],” said Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander on Fox News Sunday.

The Obama administration maintains that advising the Nigerian suspect of his rights did not prevent interrogators from obtaining useful information.

“He has given very valuable information to the government about activities in Yemen and some of his experiences there,” added White House Advisor David Axelrod. “And we have not lost anything as a result of how his case has been handled.”

The Obama administration faces a further test over the next few weeks as two Republican congressmen promote legislation that seeks to block the financing of civilian trials for alleged terrorists.

The Americano / Agencies

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