The Justice Department isn’t going to change its mind about holding a 9/11 terrorism trial in New York. So the best Republicans can do at this point is try to beat up on people like Attorney General Eric Holder.

Sen. Lindsey Graham critical of move

By Jake Sherman
Politico
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he expects to direct prosecutors to seek “ultimate and most uncommon penalty” for self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

But his tough words have been met with a vehement response from committee Republicans, who warn that his decision to try Mohammed in New York is a fundamental mistake, legally dubious and dangerous to the city.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who had been asked by the White House to not speak about the decision to try Mohammed in federal court, broke his silence Tuesday, telling Holder his decision is “a perversion of the justice system.”
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Khalid Sheik Mohammad

WASHINGTON — Clearly, Rudy Giuliani thinks otherwise. But some counterterrorism agents are coming to the defense of the Obama administration’s move to prosecute alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four accomplices in federal court in lower Manhattan.

They say that although the trial will create risks, safety concerns won’t go much beyond business-as-usual for officials in New York, who thanks to past experience and months of planning are up to the task.

“New York is uniquely qualified to handle something like this,” said Todd Letcher, a 22-year FBI veteran who before retiring was special agent in charge of the Special Operations Division for the bureau’s New York office. “They’ve done terrorism trials before. Intelligence threat and analysis is being done on a daily basis. It’s not something that rises above the capabilities of federal, state and local law enforcement.”

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By Allan Lengel

WASHINGTON — Summer is long gone, but get ready for some serious grilling — Washington style.

Attorney General Eric Holder is scheduled Wednesday morning to go before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on the “Oversight of the Department of Justice” and get grilled on such subjects as Fort Hood and the decision to put 9/11 terrorist suspect Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others on trial in New York.

He’s expected to face some of his toughest critics, who happen to sit on the committee.

Ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick/official photo

The fishy goings on involving ousted Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick continues to surface.

The Detroit Free Press reported that the FBI and IRS in August contacted the chairman of Detroit-based Compuware in August to inquire about a $240,000 loan he and other businessmen made to Kilpatrick.

Kilpatrick was forced to resign, serve jail time and pay $1 million in restitution to the city after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to lying under oath in court.

The information about the FBI-IRS probe surfaced during a court hearing Tuesday on Kilpatrick’s ability to pay restitution to the city. He has been ordered to pay $6,000 a month, but he has claimed he can’t afford it.

“Someone is paying for his restitution, and he is claiming to this court that he has the inability to pay when he in fact is not paying for it himself,” said Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Athina Siringas, according to the Detroit News. “Money just keeps on appearing and people just keep on giving.”

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By Allan Lengel

U.S. District Judge Charles P. “Tony” Sifton, a former assistant U.S. Attorney who served on the bench in New York for 30 year, has died of sarcoidosis, a lung disease, the Washington Post reported. He was 74.

Sifton served as an assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York in the 1960s and moved on to private practice before President Carter appointed him to the bench in 1977.

His ruling in January cleared the way for N.Y. Mayor Michael Bloomberg to run for for a third term. Sifton died on Nov. 9 at his Brooklyn home, the Post reported.

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