Congress

9/11, Barack Obama, Congress, Debra Burlingame, Gitmo, Guantanamo, Keep America Safe, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Military Commission

KSM trial non-decision angers 9/11 family members; Obama ‘changes’ stance on Gitmo tribunals

by  • 

I participated in yesterday’s White House conference call briefing to 9/11 family members; they provided us nothing new as to when or where Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his lieutenant co-conspirators would be tried.

The Washington Times reported this morning:

Debra Burlingame, co-founder of 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America and a board member of Keep America Safe, said she was upset at the White House after participating in a conference call with families of the victims of 9/11. “What we heard today is that despite the fact that Congress has closed every loophole for trying Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and his co-conspirators in Article III courts, the White House is persistent in defying the will of the American people and plans to do it anyway,” she said.

The briefers stated to us, “President Obama remains committed to using Article III courts for terrorists,” and added, “The President will work with Congress to lift the restrictions imposed in December 2010.” Last month, the House passed legislation that would extend the bar to all federal agencies imposed against using DOD funding for transferring Gitmo detainees to the U.S.

All of the questions during the call came from 9/11 family members.

The White House could not say how the Justice Department would overcome objections by officials in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania to 9/11 civilian trials in those states and reconcile such a decision with 6th Amendment requirements. They could not provide information as to when the decision would be made. They dodged questions about why Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his cohorts were not being tried by Military Commission, at Guantanamo, and not being placed at that “top of the list.” They disputed one family member’s assertion that the 9/11 plotters were not being given top priority but provided no evidence to support their counter-argument. One 9/11 family member tersely told White House briefers, “This call is a waste of time.”

Many aging parents of the 2,976 slaughtered on 9/11 will not live to see justice done for the war crimes committed against their loved ones. But President Obama is “taking the issue off the table” for the 2012 election campaign; it will be “all Congress’s fault” if they do not let him bring foreign enemies onto U.S. soil and bestow them with Constitutional rights.

9/11, Barack Obama, Congress, Debra Burlingame, Democrats, Election 2010, Gitmo, Guantanamo, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

Vote out those House Democrats who flip-flopped to give KSM a civilian trial (Updated)

by  • 

Updated, 4:55 a.m. Eastern. Nov 25:

While the win-loss tally for the Gitmo switchers was close to an even split, the Democrats lost the House and their vote to bring terrorists into U.S. federal courts for trial contributed to that loss.

In addition, a significant number of House Democrats who consistently voted to bring Gitmo detainees to the U.S. were defeated. They are:

Joe Sestak, PA-7, lost to Pat Toomey in the PA Senate race.

Bob Etheridge, NC-2, lost to Renee Ellmers

John Spratt, SC-5, lost to Mike Mulvaney

Rich Boucher, VA-9, lost to Morgan Griffith

Scott Murphy, NY-20, lost to Christopher Gibson

Steven Kagen, WI-8, lost to Reid Ribble

Phil Hare, IL-17, lost to Robert Schilling

James Oberstar, MN-8, lost to Chip Chavaack

Travis Childers, MS-1, lost to Alan Nunnelee

Gene Taylor, MS-4, lost to Steve Palazzo

Chet Edwards, TX-17, lost to Bill Flores

Ciro Rodriguez, TX-23, lost to Francisco Canseco

John Salazar, CO-3, lost to Scott Tipton

Steve Driehaus, OH-1, lost to Steve Chabot

Solomon Ortiz, TX-27, lost to Blake Farenthold

So far, 41 Democrats who voted on October 15, 2009 to bring Gitmo detainees to the U.S. for trial have lost their congressional races. There remains one undecided race (NY-1).

——

Original Post, October 31, 2010, 7:11 AM:

President Barack Obama has indicated he will again attempt to bring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed into the U.S. for a federal trial after the midterm elections. The good news is the House Armed Services Committee cut off the funding this past spring when poll after poll showed a strong majority of the American people are opposed to the plan. If the House shifts to a Republican majority, it is unlikely the funding will be restored. We will be watching for the reelection results of those Democrats who first voted, in a non-binding vote on October 1, 2009, against authorizing the President to bring Guantanamo detainees into the U.S. for trial and then, when it counted a mere two weeks later, they switched their votes.

Two-thirds of these flip-flopping Democrats are in toss up, leans GOP, or likely GOP races with Election Day nearing. One particularly arrogant Congressman, Baron Hill of Indiana’s 9th District, is in a leans GOP race against Todd Young, a former Marine and Deputy Prosecutor in Orange County, IN. Congressman Hill had this to say last October after switching his vote:

“I haven’t had one person ask me about Guantanamo,” said Rep. Baron Hill, D-Ind. He added that he does “not in the least” fear it as an issue in next year’s elections.

Maybe Hill is correct; his votes for the health care, stimulus, and energy bills are perhaps why he is behind in the polls.

Yet in comparatively liberal New York, Congressman Daniel Maffei (NY-25) made those same votes, including switching to allow civilian trials for terrorists, and he has lost his lead against challenger Ann Marie Buerkle. Maffei had this to say about his Gitmo switch:

“It’s a non-issue. Inside the beltway stuff,” said first-term Rep. Dan Maffai [sic], D-N.Y. “People care about jobs, the economy, health care.”

A third example is Congressman Brad Ellsworth (D, IN-8) in a likely GOP race for that open Senate seat against Dan Coats. While Ellsworth voted for both the health care bill and TARP, Coats slammed Ellsworth for his Gitmo vote in his very first television advertisement.

There are others, like Melissa Bean (IL-8) in a tight race against Joe Walsh, Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-8) in a toss up race against Marine veteran Jesse Kelly, and Ron Klein (FL-22) in a leans GOP race against retired Army veteran Lieutenant Colonel Allen West.

To be clear, we would like to see every Congressman who voted to afford the enemy a civilian trial voted out of Congress. But for now, we will be watching the Gitmo flip-floppers listed below (on the left). We urge our fellow Americans to vote for their opponents (listed on the right).

Michael Arcuri, NY-24, versus Richard Hanna *

Melissa Bean, IL-8, versus Joe Walsh *

Tim Bishop, NY-1, versus Randy Altschuler u

* Sanford Bishop, GA-2, versus Mike Keown

John Boccieri, OH-16, versus Jim Renacci *

Rick Boucher, VA-9, versus Morgan Griffith *

* Dennis Cardoza, CA-18, versus Michael Berryhill

* Russ Carnahan, MO-3, versus Ed Martin

* Ben Chandler, KY-6, versus Andy Barr

* Jim Costa, CA-20, versus Andy Vidak

* Jerry F. Costello, IL-12, versus Teri Newman

* Henry Cuellar, TX-28, versus Bryan Underwood

Kathy Dahlkemper, PA-3, versus Mike Kelly *

Lincoln Davis, TN-4, versus, Scott DesJarlais *

* Peter DeFazio, OR-4, versus Art Robinson

Brad Ellsworth, IN-8, versus Dan Coats (for U.S. Senate) *

* Gabrielle Giffords, AZ-8, versus Jesse Kelly

Alan Grayson, FL-8, versus Daniel Webster *

Debbie Halvorson, IL-11, versus Adam Kinzinger *

* Martin Heinrich, NM-1, versus Jonathan Barela

* Brian Higgins, NY-27, versus Leonard Roberto

Baron Hill, IN-9, versus Todd Young *

* Jim Himes, CT-4, versus Dan Debicella

Paul E. Kanjorski, PA-11, versus Lou Barletta *

* Larry Kissell, NC-8, versus Harold Johnson

Ron Klein, FL-22, versus Allen West *

Suzanne M. Kosmas, FL-24, versus Sandy Adams *

* Daniel Lipinski, IL-3, versus Michael A. Bendas

* Stephen Lynch, MA-9, versus Vernon Harrison

Daniel Maffei, NY-25, versus Ann Marie Buerkle *

Betsy Markey, CO-4, versus Cory Gardner *

Jim Marshall, GA-8, versus Austin Scott *

* Jim Matheson, UT-2, versus Morgan Philpot

Kendrick B. Meek, FL-17, versus Marco Rubio (for U.S. Senate) *

* Mike Michaud, ME-2, versus Jason Levesque

Scott Murphy, NY-20, versus Christopher Gibson *

Patrick Murphy, PA-8, versus Michael Fitzpatrick *

Glen Nye, VA-2, versus Scott Rigell *

* Ed Perlmutter, CO-7, versus Ryan L. Frazier

Tom Perriello, VA-5, versus Robert Hurt *

* Collin Peterson, MN-7, versus Lee Byberg

Earl Pomeroy, ND-1, versus Rick Berg *

* Mike Ross, AR-4, versus Beth Anne Rankin

* Bobby Rush, IL-1, versus Ray Wardingley

* Loretta Sanchez, CA-47, versus Van Tran

Mark Schauer, MI-7, versus Tim Walberg *

* Kurt Schrader, OR-5, versus Scott Bruun

* Allyson Schwartz, PA-13, versus Dee Adcock

* Heath Shuler, NC-11, versus Jeff Miller

Ike Skelton, MO-4, versus Vicky Hartzler *

* Adam Smith, WA-9, versus Richard Muri

Dina Titus, NV-3, versus Joe Heck *

Charlie Wilson, OH-6, versus Bill Johnson *

* John Yarmuth, KY-3, versus Todd Lally

——

Note:

See RealClearPolitics.com for election race assessments.

November 2 is also All Souls’ Day and we remember 2,976 of those who departed on 9/11.