New York City Trial For 9/11 Suspects
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: In this case, though, the arrest of these bloggers has got worldwide attention. So, you can see here this is a protest outside the embassy of Azerbaijan here in Washington, D.C., complete with donkey masks. Azerbaijan, the authorities have not responded to repeated questions from CNN about the trial -- Wolf.</s>WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Abbi, thank you. And happening now: the best political team on television on these stories. The self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks will get his day in court, civilian court, only blocks from ground zero -- this hour, the angry backlash. And why the president needs a new lawyer, the inside story on first big shakeup in the Obama White House. And Sarah Palin burning bridges with her new book. Will "Going Rogue" help her political future or destroy it? We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. The Obama administration says it's justice in action. The self- proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks will be tried in New York City. That's near the scene of the crime. But critics say it's a threat to national security and an affront to the victims of the attacks. Our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, is walking into the THE SITUATION ROOM. You're here in THE SITUATION ROOM, Jeanne. Tell us what's going on, because this is causing quite an uproar.</s>JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And the firestorm started even before the official announcement that the alleged terrorist would be brought to New York for trial.</s>MESERVE (voice-over): Just blocks from where the World Trade Center once stood, the men who allegedly plotted its destruction will face trial in a federal court. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has confessed his role, and four others will be moved from the detention center at Guantanamo Bay to New York City. Attorney Eric Holder says prosecutor will seek the death penalty, and he thinks they will get it.</s>ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I'm quite confident that we're going to be successful in the prosecution efforts.</s>JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Holder's predecessor, President Bush's attorney general, called the decision to move the cases out of military commissions unwise.</s>MICHAEL MUKASEY, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: This step to appears to have resulted simply from a commitment to close Guantanamo within a year, because regardless of the reality on the ground, it has a poor image.</s>MESERVE: Capitol Hill critics were even harsher.</s>SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I do not understand why a war criminal should be able to have the same rights as a common criminal.</s>MESERVE: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was water-boarded 183 times. And defense attorneys will likely use that to try to block the use of his confessions. Though the Justice Department says there is other evidence that's still not public, critics feel that there could be acquittals and that terrorists could be released into the United States, though current law prohibits that. But the father of a firefighter who died on 9/11 is just fine with the administration's decision to bring the alleged terrorists to New York.</s>JIM RICHES, FATHER OF 9/11 VICTIM: Let them come back to the biggest stage in the world and they will be shown they will given a fair trial, and then they will be executed, as they deserve, because they don't deserve anything less.</s>MESERVE: The attorney general also announced Friday that the man charged with plotting the attack on the USS Cole and four others will be tried in military commissions, not civilian courts. No announcement yet on where those commissions will be held and no word on how the administration will deal with the other 200 or so detainees still at Guantanamo, which the U.S. of course still hopes to close in the new year.</s>BLITZER: Huge decision for Eric Holder, but I assume the president of the United States has to sign off on something controversial as this.</s>MESERVE: Well, it's interesting. I just read the transcript of an interview the attorney general did this afternoon. And he said he told the president of his decision, but he's the one who made it.</s>BLITZER: Yes, that's going to have huge ramifications for the president. So, I assume, if the president would have said, you know what, I don't like this decision, he would have said to his friend Eric Holder, don't do it, because there's a lot at stake here.</s>MESERVE: Yes, one would guess that.</s>BLITZER: And he is a constitutional professor formerly at the University of Chicago Law School, President Obama.</s>MESERVE: It's true.</s>BLITZER: So, he knows something about this. But I'm sure he's a good politician. He understands the political fallout as well.</s>MESERVE: That's right. And Eric Holder is a former prosecutor, so he understands how that game is played.</s>BLITZER: Good. Thanks very much, Jeanne Meserve.</s>MESERVE: You bet.</s>BLITZER: There are about 200 detainees left at Guantanamo Bay. Most of their fates are in limbo. Some of the most infamous detainees, Abu Zubaydah, said to be an operational planner for al Qaeda and a top lieutenant to Osama bin Laden. Also at Gitmo right now, Mohamed Qahtani, widely believed to be the so-called 20th hijacker in the 9/11 attacks. The e-mails have been flying all day long from lawmakers responding to the decision to try these 9/11 suspects in New York City, most of the outrage coming from Republicans, but not exclusively, who say war criminals should not be treated like common criminals. Let's bring in our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, who's been getting the reaction. And lots of people are upset.</s>DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Lots of people are upset. We were most interested in what the New York delegation thought, because the New York delegation, obviously, it is most important, is closest to home for them. Now, most of the congressmen and two senators from New York are of course Democrats, so it was mostly supportive and positive. But, specifically, we talked to and we got a statement from Jerry Nadler, who actually represents the courthouse where this is going to be tried and also, of course, ground zero. And here's what he said. He said: "It is fitting that they be tried in New York, where the attack took place. Any suggestion that our prosecutors and our law enforcement personnel are not up to the task of safely holding and successfully prosecuting terrorists on American soil is insulting and untrue." So, he says it's perfectly safe. Well, I talked by phone to Republican Peter King, who represents suburban New York. He could not disagree more. I should tell you he's also the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee. Here's what he said. He said, "To me, it dramatically increases the terror threat to New York." He said, "We are already the top target of the world." He said, "They only have to be lucky once. Another interesting thing. We heard both the mayor in New York City and the police commissioner said they're fine, they can handle it. Well, he said -- he told me that his father actually was a cop in New York and trained Ray Kelly. He said he's got a lot of friends in the police community. He said he doesn't believe it. He said they're already very strained and that it's going to be very hard on them to keep New York secure.</s>BLITZER: The U.S. Marshals office put out a statement saying they think they can handle the security as well. But not all the Democrats, as you know, Dana, are thrilled with this decision.</s>BASH: That's right. One in particular was quite harsh. And that is Senator Jim Webb of Virginia. He said he is concerned about the wisdom of this. And I will put up here on the wall the rest of his statement. He said, "Those who have committed acts of international terrorism are enemy combatants, just as certainly as the Japanese pilots who killed thousands of Americans at Pearl Harbor." And he went on to say, "It will be disruptive, costly and potentially counter productive to try them as criminals in our civilian courts." Now, as you know, Jim Webb is one of the most hawkish Democrats in Congress. He's actually a former Republican. So in some ways this isn't surprising, but the fact that this was so incredibly harsh, that he said point-blank not just this, but he believes that this is wrong, that these trials should go on in military tribunals, not in civilian courts, and was so open about it was pretty interesting.</s>BLITZER: Yes, it's very interesting. John McCain, we're going to have his reaction. We got that just a little while ago. That's coming up here in THE SITUATION ROOM as well. Thank you. John McCain not very happy about this decision.</s>BASH: Of course.</s>BLITZER: More Republican anger from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The man who led the city through the horrors of 9/11 issued this statement. Let me read to it you in part. "We have regressed to a pre-9/11 mentality with respect to Islamic extremist terrorism. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed should be treated like the war criminal he is and tried in a military court. He is not just another murderer or even a mass murderer. He murdered as part of a declared war against us, America." And this just coming into THE SITUATION ROOM. We now know the punishment for former Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson. He was sentenced only moments ago for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes. CNN's Kate Bolduan is joining us with details. All right, Kate, what did he get?</s>KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Wolf. Well, the headline here, 13 years in a federal prison. And even if you don't remember the particulars of this case, everyone will remember the $90,000 of cash discovered in former Congressman William Jefferson's freezer in 2005. You see pictures right here. He was convicted on 11 counts of corruption over the summer, bribery, money laundering, wire fraud, racketeering. Today, he faced the music, as we said, sentenced to 13 years in a federal prison. And that is much less than the sentencing guidelines, which ranged from 27 to 33 years. Jefferson's attorney had asked for leniency in the sentencing, citing Jefferson's humble beginnings and long history as a public servant, the Louisiana Democrat serving Congress for 18 years. But in a case that included allegations of influence-peddling, soliciting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes for himself and his family, prosecutors argued Jefferson shouldn't receive any preferential treatment. Now, I should say, Wolf, that Jefferson had pled not guilty. He denies any wrongdoing. And the producer Paul -- our producer Paul Courson, who was in the courtroom, he said that Jefferson did not speak in court, under the guidance of his attorney, pending appeal. So, this may not be the end.</s>BLITZER: We will see what happens at the appeal. They wanted almost 30 years, the prosecution, against him. He gets 13 years. If he serves 13 years, he may have been better off copping a plea. He could have negotiated maybe a shorter prison sentence, but he didn't want to do that.</s>BLITZER: Kate Bolduan, thank you.</s>BOLDUAN: Of course. Even thousands of miles away from home, issues are dogging the president, domestic policy issues. He's on a trip to Asia. You're going to hear how the president was pressed over issues you care about and how he answered in front of a foreign audience.