Terrorism Trial Approach is Flawed

First, conducting open trials in federal courts means that some of the very best evidence will be withheld from use by the government's prosecutors out of concern that use of such evidence will compromise national security in the future. 

Second, enemy combatants have never been entitled to the rights of a suspect about to undergo interrogation in police custody.  For that reason, they have never been entitled to be warned of those rights before questioning.  As most Americans know, failure to warn a suspect of their Miranda Rights risks the ability to use any information obtained from interrogations.  This introduces the possibility that much of the subsequent investigation and evidence obtained following such questioning will not be allowed in a criminal court.  The result:  far fewer tools for prosecuting the very worst terrorists.

Third, perhaps most egregiously,  allowing terrorists their day in criminal court gives them a broad platform from which to spew hatred and draw others to their cause.  There is no need to move these trials away from the relatively private and extremely secure military commission setting.  In fact, in this particular situation, it is estimated that it will cost local law enforcement authorities roughly $75 million to provide security for these proceedings.

The bottom line is that there is no rational justification for these terrorists gaining access to domestic courts.  The decision jeopardizes not only the chances of a vigorous prosecution, but also the security interests of our nation in general, and New York City specifically.

Fortunately, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) will try to stop this transfer from occurring.  He is introducing legislation in the United States Senate that will prohibit the trials be moved out of the military commissions.  We will be working vigorously to assist Sen. Graham in this effort. 

Take a moment now to sign our petition demanding that the terrorists be tried in the military justice system, not our federal courts.  Add your name now.

Stay tuned to Jay Sekulow Live! for breaking developments as this issue unfolds.