Gee wiz, if only the Obama administration had simply accepted that KSM and the other defendants wanted to plead guilty, instead of playing games, like withdrawing all charges “without prejudice” in order to attempt to prosecute them in civilian court. Furthermore, can you imagine how much of a circus it would be if the trial was a civilian one, rather than a military tribunal?
(Washington Post) The behavior during their arraignment Saturday of the five defendants charged with orchestrating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks was a form of “peaceful resistance to an unjust system,†according to one of their attorneys who spoke at a news conference Sunday.
“The accused refuse to acknowledge the legitimacy of the military commissions,†said James Connell, an attorney for Ali Abdul Aziz Ali. The “arraignment demonstrates that this will be a long, hard-fought but peaceful struggle against secrecy, torture and the misguided institution of the military commission.â€
Connell sure has the language of the political left down to a tee, eh?
One of the defense attorneys, Cheryl Bormann, appeared at the arraignment in a full-length black abaya that showed only her face. Bormann, who is from Chicago, refused to comment on reports that she had received death threats in the wake of the arraignment and said she wore the abaya in deference to the cultural and religious sensitivities of her client, Walid bin Attash.
Bormann also asked in court that a female member of the prosecution team dress more modestly, saying her clothing was a distraction for the defendants and might cause them to “commit a sin†by looking at her. Three women on the prosecution side wore knee-length skirts.
A bit of dhimmitude by yet another hardcore leftist.
The proceedings will now enter a long period of trial litigation, with the first motions scheduled to be argued at Guantanamo next month. The trial itself is at least a year away. The judge said he would set a tentative trial date at the next hearing and seemed inclined to pencil in May 2013 for the selection of a jury of military officers and opening arguments.
If Team Obama had allowed them to simply plead guilty, this would have been over by now. Instead, they attempted to create a spectacle for political purposes by pushing for a trial down the road from Ground Zero, which blew up in their faces.
Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.
Fortunately, military tribunals don’t need to have the defense provide a defense in order to have a finding.
I hope the judges laughed at the defense councils antics.