Holder Forcefully Defends Criminal Justice System After Terrorist Guilty Plea
Huffington Post
02-22-10 06:55 PM
Attorney General Eric Holder forcefully defended the criminal justice system as a venue to try terrorists on Monday, following the guilty plea his department secured from a terrorist suspect who had plotted to blow up the New York City subway system.
Speaking shortly after Najibullah Zazi pleaded guilty to counts of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, commit murder in a foreign country, and provide material support to al-Qaeda, Holder touted the ability of the criminal justice system to pry intelligence - and secure strong verdicts - in cases like this and others.
"As I have stated on other occasions, the criminal justice system also contains powerful incentives to induce pleas that yield long sentences and gain intelligence that can be used in the fight against Al Qaeda," he said. "We will use all available tools whenever possible against suspected terrorists."
Under siege over the past month for his decision to try 9/11-plotter Kahlid Sheik Mohammad in a criminal court in Manhattan, the Zazi plea was undoubtedly a refreshing bit of news for the Holder Department of Justice.
An American citizen who was recruited by al Qaeda while fighting for Taliban troops in Pakistan, Zazi had plotted to set off a bomb in the New York City subway system this past fall. Authorities were able to intervene in time and, in the process, uncovered what they described as useful intelligence from his correspondence with al Qaeda.
Coming at roughly the same time as the decision to hold the KSM trials in New York, Zazi's case has not, similarly, been treated as a proxy battle over the efficacy of placing suspected terrorists in the criminal justice system. On Monday, however, Holder made the case that the guilty plea provided as solid example as any that the civilian system was equipped to handle terrorist threats.
"This demonstrates that our federal civilian criminal justice system... is a powerful tool in our fight against terrorism," he said. "It doesn't mean it is the only tool we should use. We have to couple it with what we do on the military side, what we do on the intelligence gathering side. But to take this tool out of our hands, to denigrate the use of this tool, flies in the face of the facts, flies in the face of the history of the use of this tool. It is more politics than about facts. "
Taking a noticeable swipe at his predominantly Republican detractors, he added:
"What happened today is consistent with what the Department of Justice, the FBI, the intelligence departments have done over the previous years... The one thing that should not be absent from that debate is the facts. This is a demonstration of the facts. This is not some kind of partisan, political act to shape something for the purposes of an election. I'm only dealing with the facts."
Captured in mid-September by authorities, Zazi was initially held in a Colorado facility pursuant to criminal complaint. Unlike KSM, he is a legal permanent resident of the United States. Zazi was transferred to New York after being indicted there and was subject to trial in the Eastern District of New York.
March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008