While nearly everyone else who represents New York City in Washington has backed away from the idea of trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other 9/11 plotters in Gotham, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) said Thursday that he's still supportive of the idea.
"I believe that law enforcement should transcend politics," Weiner said at House Judiciary Committee hearing with Attorney General Eric Holder. "That has led me to support you and your decision to hold the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in the Southern District, where we have perhaps the best prosecutors anywhere in the world, the most experienced at prosecuting terrorism cases. Judges, court officers who know their business."
Weiner's comments surprised some observers, particularly in the wake of the attempted bombing in Times Square--an event which caused enough jitters that many now consider a New York 9/11 trial a political impossibility. However, Weiner's remarks shouldn't come as a shock since he has said before that there was too much fearfulness about a trial.
"I think we all sound frightened and scared," he told MSNBC in January. "We're a strong country. We're a confident country. This whole debate makes us sound like we're flinching and scared."
On Thursday, though, Weiner made clear he was tired of the administration hemming and hawwing about whether to go forward with Holder's original plan for a Manhattan trial or to move the trial elsewhere, possibly to a military commission.
"I, frankly, think that sooner or later you should stop the Kabuki dance and tell us where that trial is going to be held. And I think if you make a good case and if you sell it and you get the facts out there, it'll be supported," Weiner said.
Weiner didn't say explicitly Thursday whether he still favored a Manhattan trial or one somewhere else in the Southern District of New York, which extends up to Westchester County. His office had no immediate clarification
Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand have all moved from supporting to opposing a Manhattan trial. Weiner's contrary position isn't entirely lonely, though. At a hearing in March, Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.) said he thought he was the only member of the New York City delegation who favored a trial in the city.
Schumer snapped at Holder last month for refusing to rule out a trial in New York City, but on Thursday Holder repeated his stance that it would be unwise to take any option off the table until a the ongoing review of the trial plan is complete.
