Five 9/11 suspects to be tried in NYC

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By Ben Conery

The self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and four of his alleged cohorts will face federal criminal charges in New York, where prosecutors plan to seek death penalties, the Obama administration announced Friday.

"After eight years of delay, those allegedly responsible for the attacks of September the 11th will finally face justice," Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said. "They will be brought to New York - to New York - to answer for their alleged crimes in a courthouse just blocks away from where the Twin Towers once stood."

Mr. Holder said the decision to prosecute Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and the four others - Waleed bin Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi and Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali - in civilian court is part of the ongoing process to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where they are currently being held.

The attorney general also announced that five other Guantanamo detainees, including Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri - the alleged architect of the USS Cole bombing in 2000 - will face trials in military commissions at locations not yet determined in the United States.

There are no immediate plans to bring any of the detainees to the United States. A recently passed law requires the administration to give Congress 45 days' notice before it can bring a Guantanamo detainee into the country.

In the case of those headed to federal court, prosecutors must present evidence to a grand jury and obtain indictments for each of the alleged 9/11 conspirators. Mr. Holder said they will seek indictments directly related to the terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of nearly 3,000, and he expects that all five men will be tried together.

The attorney general also said it is likely the defendants will be held in federal prison in Manhattan.

Republican lawmakers and other conservatives, including former Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey, criticized the move as reckless and dangerous.

Rep. Peter T. King, New York Republican and ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said, "Now that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the worst of the worst, and his fellow terrorists are set to be moved to New York, what is the president's plan to keep Lower Manhattan and all our communities safe?

"Unfortunately, Congress and the American people were never allowed a role in this debate," Mr. King said. "This is an upsetting pattern for an administration that promised an unprecedented level of transparency."