Eric Holder Says "Politics Has No Place — No Place — In The Impartial And Effective Administration Of Justice". I AGREE, So The Two Bowling Green Al Qaeda Iraqis Deserve GITMO Trials.

In rebuke of McConnell, Holder says 'politics has no place' in prosecuting terror cases
Written by James R. Carroll

WASHINGTON — Answering criticism from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Attorney General Eric Holder made a strong defense Thursday night of the Obama administration's policy of using civilian courts — rather than military tribunals — to try terrorist suspects apprehended in the United States.

“Politics has no place — no place — in the impartial and effective administration of justice,” Holder said in a speech to the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy.

“Decisions about how, where, and when to prosecute must be made by prosecutors, not politicians,” he said. “And this is true for every case, whether it involves white collar criminals or brutal terrorists.”

Holder did not mention McConnell by name. But his remarks clearly were directed at the Kentucky Republican, who said in a Senate floor speech Tuesday that two terrorism suspects arrested May 25 in Bowling Green should be sent to the military detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

“Get these men out of Kentucky,” McConnell said. “Send them to Guantanamo where they belong. Get these terrorists out of the civilian (court) system — and out of our backyards. And give them the justice they deserve.”

McConnell is scheduled to hold a press conference Friday in Bowling Green to discuss his concerns about the civil prosecution of Waad Ramadan Alwan and Mohanad Shareef Hammadi.

The two have pleaded not guilty to 23 charges of terrorism and are being held in jail. If convicted, they face life in prison.

In response to Holder’s remarks, McConnell said in a statement that “the place for foreign terrorists and terror trials is in the secure detention facility at Guantanamo Bay—not in U.S. communities and civilian courtrooms.”

"There is wide, bipartisan opposition to giving the rights of U.S. citizens to men who tried to kill our troops on the battlefield,” the Senate GOP leader said. “Unfortunately, this administration has been working since its first week in office to do just that, regardless of the opposition in those communities or their elected leaders in Congress.”

In his speech, Holder said the Justice Department “has led with strength and by example” in protecting the American people.

“Even as we’ve confronted unprecedented, and increasingly sophisticated, national security threats, we’ve made historic progress — without giving in to fear, or compromising our values as Americans,” he said.

“It will take a collective effort — and collaboration between partners inside and outside of government — to re-establish our nation’s moral authority, to reaffirm our guiding principles, to rid our public dialogue of fear-mongering, and to remove politics from prosecutorial determinations,” Holder said.

He insisted that the executive branch has “the exclusive right” to determine the appropriate location for criminal trials.

Holder added “one indisputable fact, which has been proven repeatedly, during this administration and the previous one: in disrupting potential attacks and effectively interrogating, prosecuting, and incarcerating terrorists — there is, quite simply, no more powerful tool than our civilian court system.”

Answering the concerns of McConnell and others that civilian trials of terrorist suspects threaten public safety, the attorney general said that every suspected terrorist apprehended in the United States was taken into custody by law enforcement officials, not the military.

Hundreds of people have been convicted in the federal court system of terrorism or terrorism-related crimes, Holder said.

“Not one of these individuals has escaped custody,” he said. “Not one of the judicial districts involved has suffered retaliatory attacks. And not one of these terrorists arrested on American soil has been tried by a military commission. Not by the Obama administration — and not by the Bush administration. Not a single one.”

The military tribunals, Holder said, have been improved but “are largely untested.”

“Without civilian law enforcement and (civilian) courts, our ability to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat terror plots; to secure actionable intelligence; to enlist international cooperation; and to punish those who have — and who intend to — harm Americans would be seriously damaged,” the attorney general said.

Meanwhile, Kentucky Senate President David Williams injected the issue into the state’s governor’s race.

Williams, the Republican nominee, called on his Democratic opponent, Gov. Steve Beshear, to join him in demanding that the Obama administration send the two suspects to Guantanamo Bay for military trial.

“Gov. Beshear is again showing that he lacks the courage to stand up to President (Barack) Obama and tell him exactly what is in the best interests of Kentuckians,” Williams said in a statement.

But Beshear released a statement that said he was “fine with the federal government sending them to Guantanamo Bay. My main concern is to get them out of Kentucky.”