Friday, March 05, 2010

Obama Close to Reversing Holder on Civilian Trials

Glenn Greenwald writes Obama close to reversing Holder on civilian trials. "One of the very few commendable steps taken by the Obama administration toward reversing the Bush/Cheney Constitution/Terrorism template was the DOJ's decision to try the five accused 9/11 defendants in a civilian court (just as the rest of the civilized world does with Terrorists).  But ever since that was announced, Obama officials have been clearly signaling that they intend to reverse that decision in response to the GOP's political attacks (while Rahm Emanuel has been busy making clear he disagreed with Holder's choice), and a new story in The Washington Post this morning provides the clearest evidence yet that this will happen.  The article reports that 'President Obama's advisers are nearing a recommendation that Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, be prosecuted in a military tribunal . . . a step that would reverse Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.'s plan to try him in civilian court.'  This reversal will be due to 'demands, mainly from Republicans, that Mohammed and his accused co-conspirators remain under military jurisdiction.'"

Spencer Ackerman has more.

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