The White House is conferring with senior people at the Justice Department in search of another venue for the 9/11 trial of plotter Khalid Sheikh Muhammad and his co-defendants. Although the White House denies ordering the change, it seems clear that a new venue is in the offing.
The case will remain, however, in criminal court. Keeping the trial in criminal court continues a mistaken preference for trying certain terror cases in civilian courts. Convictions notwithstanding, such trials carry greater risk of the prosecution losing, entail balancing use of evidence versus intelligence secrecy, and confer more rights upon unlawful combatants today than lawful combatants had in prior wars.
The Wall Street Journal editors call upon Congress to strip the civilian courts of jurisdiction over terror cases, even granting that President Obama will likely veto such legislation. Charles Krauthammer, reviewing the wreckage of the administration's plan to locate the 9/11 trial in New York City & its decision to Mirandize the Flight #253 XMAS bomber without senior-level participation, writes that if Congress denies funds for a 9/11 New York trial it would resurrect the issue of whether terrorists should be tried in civilian or military courts. In a neat turn on a famous phrase, CK concludes:
Congress may not be able to roll back the Abdulmutallab travesty. But there will be future Abdulmutallabs. By cutting off funding for the KSM trial, Congress can send Obama a clear message: The Constitution is neither a safety net for illegal enemy combatants nor a suicide pact for us.
Bottom Line. Which leaves the Roman question, "Quo vadis?" ("Whither goest thou?") I prefer sending the trial to Pluto, for two reasons: First, it is as far as we can send the 9/11 plotters within our Solar System; second, Pluto, having lost its status as a planet in astronomers' eyes, needs a publicity boost. Failing spacecraft suitability for such a mission, Congress should refuse to fund a civilian trial for the 9/11 terrorists anywhere, and force their transfer back to military court.
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