Republicans Clash With Attorney General Eric Holder Over Terror Trials

Telling a Senate panel, "We need not cower in the face of this enemy," Attorney General Eric Holder testified on Capitol Hill Wednesday that he decided to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other accused 9/11 masterminds in a civilian criminal court rather than a military tribunal because that is where he believes he has the best chance of convicting them.

"I am a prosecutor," Holder said. "And as a prosecutor, my top priority was simply to select the venue where the government will have the greatest opportunity to present the strongest case and the best law."

The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Jeff Sessions, accused the Obama administration of "a pre-9/11 mentality" and took Holder to task for trying the terrorists in a criminal court in New York City. "I believe this decision is dangerous. I believe it's misguided. I believe it is unnecessary," he said. "Mr. Holder, I don't think these are normal defendants. These are people we are at war with, and we are dropping bombs on them this very day attacking their lairs wherever they hide."

Several families of 9/11 victims sat in the Senate hearing room as Holder defended his reasoning. "I knew this decision would be a controversial one. This was a tough call and reasonable people can disagree with my conclusion." He said he had studied the issues exhaustively and noted that more than 300 terrorists had been successfully convicted in civilian courts.

He also rejected Sessions' accusation that he or the administration has returned to a pre-9/11 mentality. "I know that we are at war...Those who suggest otherwise are simply wrong."

Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl pushed back at Holder's rejection of a military tribunal. "How could you be more likely to get a conviction in federal court when Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has already asked to plead guilty before a military commission and be executed?" Kyl asked to the applause of the 9/11 families.

After the chairman of the committee, Patrick Leahy, reminded the families that Senate rules prohibit cheering in the hearing, Holder responded, "The determination I make on where I think we can best try these cases does not depend on the whims or the desires of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed." He went on, "He will not select the prosecution venue. I will select it and I have."

As the hearing continued in Washington, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani called Holder's choice of a criminal court for the trials "one of the worst decisions this administration has made." Giuliani spoke on a conference call with reporters sponsored by the Republican National Committee and said Holder was needlessly endangering New Yorkers. "New York City is clearly a target, and there is no reason to add any other reasons to why it is a target when you don't have to do that," he said.
In an interview with NBC Wednesday morning, President Obama said he is confident the trials will result in a conviction and the death penalty for the accused terrorists. "What I'm absolutely clear about is that I have complete confidence in the American people and in our legal traditions, and the prosecutors, tough prosecutors from New York, who specialize in terrorism."