Nov 14, 2009 7:33 am US/Eastern
Rep. King Blasts Holder Over 9/11 Trial In NYC
In Letter Obtained By CBS 2 HD, Lawmaker Tells Attorney General Too Many Landmarks At Risk; NYPD Disagrees
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
-
-
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is seen in an undated 2001 file photo, left; and he appears in detention in this March 3, 2003 photo. The Al Qaeda leader and confessed mastermind of September 11 terrorist attack will stand trial in New York City.
AP
-
-
An image of a courtroom drawing by artist Janet Hamlin, reviewed by the U.S. military, shows Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (C) and co-defendant Walid Bin Attash (L) attending a pre-trial session on Dec. 8, 2008, in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Janet Hamlin/Getty Images
-
-
In this photo reviewed by US military officials, a detainee whose name, nationality, and facial identification are not permitted, walks within the grounds of the Camp 5 maximum security prison at the Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base in Cuba, 26 June 2006.
Brennan Linsley/AFP/Getty Images
The man who admitted he hatched the Sept. 11 attacks will face his accusers just blocks from ground zero.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees will stand trial in New York. The decision has caused a firestorm of controversy.
Justice … New York justice … the tough justice of our nation's federal courts will await Mohammed and four alleged accomplices when they are brought here to face charges of milling nearly 3,000 people on 9-11.
"I fully expect to direct prosecutors to seek the death penalty against each of the alleged 9-11 conspirators," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said.
Bringing the five terrorists here is part of President Barack Obama's plan to close down the infamous Guantanamo Bay detention center. But Holder said it is fitting that they be tried in New York.
"They will be brought to New York -- New York -- to answer for their alleged crimes in a courthouse just blocks from where the twin towers once stood," Holder said.
Congressman Peter King, the ranking member of the House Homeland Security committee, is very unhappy about it. He has been fighting the move for months, saying it's too risky for the city.
In an April 1 letter to Holder obtained by CBS 2 HD the congressman said: "The southern district courthouse is within walking distance of ground zero, City Hall … NYPD headquarters (and) Wall Street. … It is reckless to impose the risk of these trials on New York for no good reason."
But NYPD police commissioner Ray Kelly, who will have to beef up security when the al Qaeda gang arrives, said bring it on.
"We're the biggest law enforcement agency in the country. We've handled high profile events, certainly high profile trials in the past -- and we'll be able to do it," Kelly said.
The trail will force prosecutors to confront some tough issues, like water boarding -- Mohammed was subjected to that interrogation technique 183 times in 2003 alone.
Will that help get him off? Jim Riches, who lost his firefighter son on 9-11, doesn't think so.
"It doesn't hold water with me. I mean he stood in the courtroom, he wasn't water boarded that day, and stood up there and said he was proud they killed all the people they did on 9-11," Riches said.
Not all the 9-11 family members are thrilled that the trial will be here, but others told CBS 2 HD they not only want to be at the trial, they want to testify.
The al Qaeda members aren't expected to arrive in New York for at least 45 days.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
World's Most Useless Facts
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Go! New York: Exercise And Your Brain 3 mins ago 
Many NJ Towns Running Out Of Salt, Money 30 mins ago 
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments