ABC-4 News: Local Leaders Weigh in On Possible 9/11 Mastermind Trial in PA

Friday, January 29, 2010



- The trial of the architect behind the Sept. 11 attacks could be shifted to a site in western Pennsylvania, according to a report on Politico.com. The Justice Department had planned to hold the trials of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four alleged accomplices in New York City, not far from where nearly 3,000 were killed and another 6,000 injured during suicide attacks on the World Trade Center.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who originally supported the plan, reversed his position this week and called for Attorney General Eric Holder to lobby for moving the trial outside lower Manhattan.

The city has claimed it will cost them hundreds of millions of dollars to provide security for a court case that is expected to last at least a year.According to the Politico.com report, possible new trial sites could include White Plains in the Southern District of New York, Newport News or Alexandria in the Eastern District of Virginia or a venue in the Western District of Pennsylvania, where Shanksville, Somerset County, was the site of the United Airlines Flight 93 crash on 9/11. A representative for Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., sent the following statement to Channel 4 Action News on Friday:"Mayor Bloomberg has given good reasons why the trial should not be held in New York City and that same reasoning would apply for Pennsylvania as well. At the moment it's all speculation, but I will be alert to protect Pennsylvania's interests."

Specter's representative added that the senator has reached out to the Department of Justice.

Federal courthouse locations in western Pennsylvania include downtown Pittsburgh, Erie and Johnstown.

Former U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan said the president has the authority to send these cases to the U.S. military for trial, taking them out of the civilian court and out of Manhattan and Pittsburgh.

"We shouldn't be debating whether these cases should be tried in New York or in Pittsburgh or in any other district," Buchanan told WTAE Channel 4 Action News on Saturday. "These cases should not be tried in civilian courts, they should be tried in front of a military commission."

She said the president delegated the decision of where prosecution should be to Attorney General Eric Holder."It makes no sense to distinguish between a terrorist who comes to the us to commit offenses against us citizens and someone who commits offenses overseas or against the military," Buchanan said.

"They're all terrorists and they should all be prosecuted in the military tribunals."U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., said a trial in the city of Pittsburgh would raise serious safety concerns for not only jurors, but residents as well.

"Al-Qaida and other terrorists have a pattern of attacking those who may have someone else on trial or post a sentence on them," said Murphy. "It certainly does not belong in a city where it will cost tens of millions of dollars to provide military like security during a trial."

Gov. Ed Rendell told WTAE Channel 4's news exchange partners at the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review that he would like to know "Why it would be safer for western Pennsylvania than for New York City?" and "What portion of the cost for security and other things would the federal government absorb?" Murphy said Congress always has the option to fight back if the trial is shifted to Pittsburgh or any other city."Congress can simply say, 'We are not going to fund this, won't put a penny toward this,'" said Murphy.

Like Pennsylvania Democrats and Republicans, Buchanan also pointed to the cost to keep citizens safe during the trials.

"This case is going to be extremely complicated, it's going to be lengthy, there will be security concerns and cost concerns," she said. "For every jurisdiction, they'll be faced with the very same issues that Pittsburgh is faced with, and that New York is faced with."

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