Holder Defends 9/11 Civilian Trials, Defuses Critics

Holder Defends 9/11 Civilian Trials, Defuses Critics
Sets Confrontational Tone as Critics Back Down
By Spencer Ackerman 4/14/10 3:18 PM

Eric Holder testifies

Attorney General Eric Holder testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. (James Berglie/ZUMApress.com)


Eric Holder stepped into the Dirksen building this morning an embattled man facing Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee fiercely critical of his desire to try Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and the other 9/11 conspirators in federal court. He left three hours later having defused some of his critics; conceding little; sticking up for his department’s role in counterterrorism; and placing back onto the table the prospect of a New York trial for the man known as KSM.

For months, Holder and his Justice Department have been at the center of conservative ire at the Obama administration’s national security policies. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called Holder out in a caustic February speech for playing an unduly influential role in counterterrorism, evidenced by Holder’s contentions that KSM and would-be Christmas bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab should be tried in civilian courts. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa.), both Judiciary Committee members, have portrayed administration lawyers who defended Guantanamo detainees as possessing shadowy, un-American loyalties, and an ad building on their statements dubbed the lawyers “the al-Qaeda Seven.” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has spent months working on a deal with the White House to trade GOP support for closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in exchange for overriding Holder and trying KSM before a military commission.

But Holder did not appear under fire during his first Senate testimony since the KSM controversy swelled. More often, it was his critics who backed down, conceded rhetorical territory or disagreed among themselves. “There’s been a lot of misinformation placed out there,” a confrontational Holder testified. “Without casting aspersions on anyone in this room, there’s been a lot of unnecessary politicization of national security issues that I don’t believe has benefited this country.”

Holder reminded the committee that civilian courts have convicted “close to 400″ individuals on terrorism charges, compared to three in military commissions — though Holder, adapting a phrase of Graham’s, said he would be “flexible, pragmatic and aggressive” in keeping both the commissions and the civilian courts as options for terrorism trials. That caused Sessions, who sought to portray Holder as an enemy of the commissions, to assert: “It’s pretty clear to me you made a firm decision to go the other way, with civilian courts with all these other cases.” Holder replied that he had referred more terrorism cases — six, to be specific — to the military commissions than he had to the civilian courts. Similarly, when Sessions attempted to get Holder to say he’d favor reading Miranda rights to Osama bin Laden, Holder answered that there would be no need, since the government has more than enough information at present to convict bin Laden of terrorism crimes.

“I acknowledge that’s possible,” Sessions said.

more...

http://washingtonindependent.com/82255/holder-defends-911-civilian-trials-defuses-critics

with Asscroft's and that fucking lunatic Rumsfeld's condescending bullshit. Now it's time let these pukes know what's what.

You mean there's a lot of bullshit and disinformation flying around? Say it ain't so...

the message is out there ...

1. Obama wanted to threaten the lives of the U.S. citizens by having civilian trials

2. Obama has chickened out "from his promise to liberals" that the trials will be open, and made them into military tribunals

Both intended for the demonization of Obama ... first for putting "us" in danger, then for "screwing his base" ...

retraction printed on page 37, right in between two lengthy "classified ads" which announce something extremely boring and tedious to read ...

that, yeah, there is an extraordinary amount of bullshit and disinformation flying from all directions.

Beware!

When you have facts on your side (that civilian courts have convicted 400 people on terrorism charges vs the military commissions which had 3) that is easy to do.

I really like Eric Holder.

and prepared for whatever comes.. to do what he sees fit.