Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame

New York Trial For Somali Terrorism Suspect Reignites Gitmo Debate

Susan Crabtree | July 6, 2011, 4:22PM

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is pushing back against GOP criticism of the Obama administration's decision to bring Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, the Somali man facing terrorism charges, to New York for trial.

Feinstein, an influential and respected voice on intelligence and national security issues, said the intelligence panel has been kept fully informed on Warsame's interrogations and the intelligence they produced, adding that she agreed with the decision to try him civilian court.

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War On Terror

Obama Would Veto Defense Bill Over Detainee Provisions

Susan Crabtree | May 24, 2011, 6:35PM

President Barack Obama

The White House is threatening to veto the annual must-pass House Defense Authorization bill over language limiting his ability to transfer detainees overseas or try them in civilian court, among other issues.

In addition, the White House is taking strong exception to language dramatically expanding the president's power to wage the war on terror indefinitely, among other provisions.

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Jim Inhofe

Inhofe: Biggest Problem For Gitmo Detainees Is Obesity (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | May 13, 2011, 10:16AM

It's not that they're in prison indefinitely. It's not that they've maybe been waterboarded. It's definitely not that they can't see their families. No, the biggest problem facing Guantanamo Bay detainees, according to Sen. Jim Inhofe, is that they're getting fat.

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Lindsey Graham

Senate Republicans Vow to Keep Guantanamo Bay Open

Igor Bobic | May 11, 2011, 4:58PM

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

In response to the Obama administration's renewed efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay prison, Senate Republicans introduced legislation on Wednesday that would codify the detention facility as the primary location for current and future detainees.

"Attorney General Holder and President Obama: Guantanamo Bay is not going to close," Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said at a press conference introducing the bill. "I respect Holder, but let me say categorically there is no pathway forward when it comes to closing Guantanamo in the foreseeable future."

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'Obama's Wars'

McCain, Graham Lead Effort to Strip Holder of Detainee Authority

Susan Crabtree | March 10, 2011, 3:47PM

Attorney General Eric Holder

Six senators, led by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), are pushing for sweeping changes to the nation's laws governing detainees and the war on terror, including one that would strip Attorney General Eric Holder and the Justice Department as a whole of the power to make decisions about where to try suspected terrorists.

The group of senators, which includes Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Scott Brown (R-MA), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), are working with Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee on a bill that would usher in comprehensive detainee policy changes and would, among other things, affirm the military's right to detain, hold and interrogate detains at its discretion without the involvement of the Department of Justice or Holder.

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Guantanamo Bay

Republicans Move To Strip Detainee Authority From Holder And Future Attorneys General

Susan Crabtree | March 8, 2011, 6:47PM

Attorney General Eric Holder

Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) are teaming up with Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee to write legislation that would take decisions about trying detainees out of the attorney general's hands and hand that power to the secretary of defense.

In the wake of the White House's new executive order allowing Guantanamo detainees to be held indefinitely, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-CA) unveiled legislation that would, among other things, affirm the military's right to detain, hold and interrogate detainees at its discretion without Department of Justice or Attorney General Eric Holder involvement.

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Lindsey Graham

Graham: Obama's Gitmo Decree Is 'Confusing, Illogical'

Susan Crabtree | March 8, 2011, 8:44AM

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

President Obama signed an executive order Monday that ends a two-year ban on military trials at Guantanamo Bay, but one of the biggest critics of his detainee policy is still confused about what the decree means for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-declared mastermind of the 9/11 attacks and his co-conspirators.

"[The administration's policy on Guantanamo] has been on again and off again, and I can't tell from this order where KSM is going to go," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told TPM Monday evening. "He would gladly tell you he did it. He and his co-conspirators should be handled through the law of war and treated like our enemies."

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Guantanamo Bay

Rumsfeld: 'Heartbreaking Thing' That We Couldn't Persuade People Gitmo Was 'First Class' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | February 9, 2011, 3:27PM

Donald Rumsfeld

During his interview last night on Sean Hannity's TV show, former Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld bemoaned the sad fact about the prison camp at Guantanamo -- namely, according to Rumsfeld, that the Bush administration was unable to convince people of just how great it is!

"It is an exceedingly well-run prison. And the folks down there have done, and are doing, an excellent job," said Rumsfeld. "The heartbreaking thing with respect to Guantanamo is not that there's anything wrong with that -- it's one of the finest prison systems in the world. What is awkward is the fact that, for whatever reason, the administration was incapable of persuading people that that was a first class operation, that they were not torturing people, they were not hurting people.

"And it was then, and it is today, a fine operation, and the men and women who operate it for the United States military deserve a lot of credit. And they've taken a lot of heat, unfairly."

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Pledge To America

TPM Brings You The GOP 'Pledge To America' Governing Agenda (In Draft Form)

Brian Beutler | September 22, 2010, 7:00PM

Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) and Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) with members of the Republican House leadership

TPM has obtained a draft version of the GOP "Pledge to America" -- the House Republicans' official platform going into November.

Republicans have been very public about certain aspects of their agenda, which we've reported here. They are contained in the Pledge, along with other proposals.

Despite indications earlier this summer that Republicans might use the Pledge to call for Social Security privatization, the language used in the document is much softer. It says, instead, "We will make the decisions that are necessary to protect our entitlement programs for today's seniors and future generations. That means requiring a full accounting of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, setting benchmarks for these programs and reviewing them regularly, and preventing the expansion of unfunded liabilities."

You can access the entire document below, but here are some other highlights:

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Guantanamo Bay

Senators Lieberman, McCain And Graham Ask Obama To Halt Transfer Of Yemeni Gitmo Detainees

Christina Bellantoni | December 29, 2009, 5:01PM

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

Sen. Joe Lieberman, Sen. John McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham wrote a letter to President Obama today asking he halt any transfer of the six Yemeni detainees being held in Guantanamo Bay.

The trio of senators, who often see eye-to-eye on national security issues, said the transfer of the detainees would be "highly unwise and ill-considered."

Lieberman (I-CT) McCain (R-AZ) and Graham (R-SC) asked that until the United States is sure the detainees "will not return to the battlefield," all transfers to Yemen should cease.

A senior administration official tells TPMDC that Obama's Guantanamo review specifically identifies each detainee.

The task force evaluates detainees and the threat they pose, to determine whether they should be prosecuted, detained, or transferred, the official said.

The administration has worked with the government of Yemen to make sure all appropriate security measures are taken when the detainees are transferred, and Obama "will not release any detainee who would endanger the American people," the official said.

The official said Gitmo has been used by Al Qaeda as a rallying cry and recruiting tool, and the administration maintains that closing it is a national security imperative.

Excerpts from the Lieberman/McCain/Graham letter after the jump, and read it in full here.

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Guantanamo Bay

Gitmo Detainees To Move North

Christina Bellantoni | December 15, 2009, 8:24AM

Late last night news broke that the Obama administration plans to transfer detainees from the Guantanamo Bay prison to a correctional center in Illinois.

An administration official told TPMDC last night:

On Tuesday, the administration will announce that the president has directed that the federal government proceed with the acquisition of the Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Illinois to house federal inmates and a limited number of detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Closing the detention center at Guantanamo is essential to protecting our national security and helping our troops by removing a deadly recruiting tool from the hands of al Qaeda. Tuesday's announcement is an important step forward as we work to achieve our national security objectives.

Gov. Pat Quinn and Sen. Dick Durbin will get a White House briefing Tuesday afternoon on the decision. They are among the supporters who say using Thomson would create new jobs.

Like everything, there are political consequences here as Senate candidate Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) has been the most vocal opponent to the idea. Other Republicans are balking as well.

But as we reported a few weeks ago, an unlikely coalition of conservatives are backing the plan.

Guantanamo Bay

Gov. Quinn, Sen. Durbin 'Encouraged' Obama Memo Suggests Thomson To Be Gitmo Replacement

Christina Bellantoni | December 11, 2009, 6:57PM

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Gov. Pat Quinn said they are encouraged that a draft memo has surfaced indicating Thomson Correctional Center may be the choice to replace the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Andrew Breitbart has the memo here.

An administration official tells TPMDC it is a "draft, predecisional document that lawyers at various agencies were drafting in preparation for a potential future announcement about where to house GTMO detainees."

"Drafts of official documents are often prepared for any and all possibilities, regardless of whether a decision has been made about the policy or if the document will be used," the official said.

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Guantanamo Bay

American Justice System Too Weak For Terrorists, GOPers Say

Evan McMorris-Santoro | December 10, 2009, 1:33PM

Rep. Steve King (R-IA)

Standing in front of the Supreme Court this morning, a group of Republican lawmakers railed against the court system run out of the building behind them. A sign affixed to the plexiglas podium each spoke at in turn spelled out the reason for their concern. "Protect our homeland," it read. "Keep terrorists out of America."

The justice system laid out in the Constitution, they said, is just too weak to protect American citizens from wiley terror suspects. From "activist judges" to courtroom sketch artists, the group reeled off a list of reasons the Obama administration decision to bring Guantanamo Bay detainees to the U.S. for trial could quite possibly end in, as Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) suggested, a nuclear attack on the United States.

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Guantanamo Bay

Retired Generals Accuse Boehner Of Playing Politics With National Security

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 18, 2009, 4:38PM

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH)

A group of retired Generals led by former Maine Rep. Tom Andrews (D) accused the House GOP leader John Boehner of putting politics before national security today with his plan to force a vote on a bill that would prevent prisoners from being transferred from Guantanamo Bay to the United States.

The National Campaign To Close Guantanamo called Republican arguments that transferring Gitmo detainees to New York will endanger Americans "fear mongering." In a statement, Andrews pointed to past terror trials in the U.S. as evidence of his claim that the GOP is making political hay in the days since Attorney General Eric Holder announced that terror suspects will be tried in the U.S..

"Since 2001, 195 terrorists have been tried, convicted and locked up in federal supermax prisons on US soil under the Bush and Cheney administration," Andrews said. Boehner and other GOP leaders "never uttered a word of concern and opposition " back then, he continued, "but now that a Democratic President is doing it, the sky is going to fall and America will soon be under attack."

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Guantanamo Bay

Hoekstra Calls Terror Suspects A Dem 'Pot Of Gold' For Economically Devestated Communities

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 18, 2009, 2:46PM

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI)

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) said today that the Obama administration is "bribing" economically suffering towns across the country as it attempts to relieve itself of the political problem of closing Guantanamo Bay.

"They're going into communities that are hard-pressed economically and holding out a pot of gold," he told reporters. Hoekstra was referring to the White House plan to bring terror suspects to prisons across the country. He said that the administration was taking advantage of hard-hit towns across the country by promoting the jobs that would be created by adding Guantanamo Bay detainees to their prison populations.

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Guantanamo Bay

Giuliani: I'm Glad To See We're At War Again

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 18, 2009, 12:10PM

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R)

On a conference all with reporters just now, Rudy Giuliani said there was one thing about Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to bring terror suspects to New York City he could stand fully behind.

"I was glad to see Holder say 'we're at war,'" Giuliani said on the RNC-sponsored call. "I had thought we had virtually stopped being at war with the terrorists."

The former New York City mayor was referring to Friday's press conference by Holder where he announced the plan to try terrorists in the city.

Giuliani said he hoped the use of the word would hearken back to a return to the Bush era "War On Terror" which Giuliani said President Obama has abandoned, both in rhetoric and actions. "I was under the impression that the Obama administration thought this was just an unfortunate situation we're dealing with."

"'War' is important," he said.

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Guantanamo Bay

Obama On Critics Of Gitmo Detainees Facing Trial: Won't Be Offensive 'When Death Penalty Is Applied'

Christina Bellantoni | November 18, 2009, 7:49AM

President Barack Obama

President Obama dismissed critics who don't like his administration's plan to transfer detainees from Guantanamo Bay to the U.S. to stand trial for the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, suggesting if Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is found guilty and executed, they will stop being offended.

Obama did a round of interviews with the network White House correspondents traveling with him in Asia. Some of them are airing tonight, but a few networks have released clips.

NBC's Chuck Todd asked Obama about some Americans offended by the decision to transfer detainees, including Mohammed, from Guantanamo Bay to New York.

"I don't think it will be offensive at all when he's convicted and when the death penalty is applied to him," Obama said.

Todd pressed the president, suggesting he was already deciding how the trial would go.

"What I said was, people will not be offended if that's the outcome. I'm not prejudging it, I'm not going to be in that courtroom. That's the job of the prosecutors, the judge and the jury," Obama said.

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2010 elections

Rep. Mark Kirk Taking Local Heat For Gitmo Stance

Christina Bellantoni | November 17, 2009, 6:40PM

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL)

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) has been one of the most prominent critics of a possible plan to transfer Guantanamo Bay detainees to a prison in Thomson, Illinois.

As we wrote yesterday, some conservatives favor it, and the local community sees it as an economic boon. (The Senate defeated a Republican measure to block funding for the detainee transfer today.)

But Kirk, seeking the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate, said today on Fox News he thinks it should be up to the voters. He said it's a "decision bigger than any one senator" and said the "risk is unnecessary."

The Chicago Sun-Times called it a political move, editorializing today: "Kirk's scare talk might do him wonders with the GOP base, but it won't convince a single terrorist that this nation has a backbone."

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee accused Kirk of being a flip-flopper, since he supported a bill last month on the House floor authorizing Obama to transfer detainees. They also said he's using "Karl Rove style fear mongering."

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Guantanamo Bay

Senate Defeats Inhofe Amendment On Gitmo Detainee Transfer

Christina Bellantoni | November 17, 2009, 3:29PM

The Senate this afternoon defeated an amendment aimed at the Obama administration's efforts to transfer detainees from the prison at Guantanamo Bay to the United States.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) had tried to attach an amendment to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act that would have blocked money for building or modifying prisons to hold Gitmo detainees.

The Senate killed the Inhofe amendment in a 57-43 vote hailed by the ACLU. All 40 Republicans were joined by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Sens. Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln, both Democrats from Arkansas.

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Guantanamo Bay

Conservatives Say Gitmo Detainees Would Be Fine In IL Prison, Warn GOP Of 'Scaremongering'

Christina Bellantoni | November 16, 2009, 10:19AM

President of The American Conservative Union David Keene, frmr House Rep./Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr, and Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist

Three prominent conservatives warned in a joint statement against Republican "scaremongering" on Guantanamo Bay detainees, saying the prison in Thomson, Illinois would be fine to handle them.

Former Republican Congressman and Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr, David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union and Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, have teamed up to urge the Gitmo detainees be taken to the U.S.

"The scaremongering about these issues should stop," Barr, Keene and Norquist wrote.

"Civilian federal courts are the proper forum for terrorism cases," they wrote. "Civilian prisons are the safe, cost effective and appropriate venue to hold persons in federal courts."

"Likewise the federal prison system has proven itself fully capable of safely holding literally hundreds of convicted terrorists with no threat or danger to the surrounding community," they wrote. "We are confident that the government can preserve national security without resorting to sweeping and radical departures from an American constitutional tradition that has served us effectively for over two centuries."

Read the full letter here.

Guantanamo Bay

Dem Congressman: 'It's Unamerican' To Oppose U.S. Terror Trials

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 13, 2009, 6:36PM

Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA)

Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) has strong words for the Republicans opposing Attorney General Eric Holder's plan to bring five 9/11 suspects to New York City to face trial.

"They see this as an opportunity to demagogue," he said. "They will seize on any opportunity to do that, and that means they'll even take a stand that's un-American."

"It's un-American to hold anyone indefinitely without trial," Moran added. "It's against our principles as a nation."

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Guantanamo Bay

Former Bush Admin AG Slams Holder On 9/11 Trials

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 13, 2009, 3:16PM

Fmr. Attorney General Michael Mukasey

Just a few minutes ago, former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey slammed his successor, Eric Holder, over Holder's decision to bring five terror suspects from Guantanamo Bay to New York to try them as planners of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

"It shows a willingness to disclose how our intelligence process works and offer [the suspects] a platform in our legal system to gather intelligence for themselves," Mukasey said before an audience of conservative lawyers at the national Federalist Society's annual legal convention in Washington.

Holder's plan "creates a cornucopia of intelligence for those still at large and a circus for those being tried," Mukasey said.

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Guantanamo Bay

Sen. Graham Says White House Asked Him To Withhold Comment On Gitmo, For Now

Christina Bellantoni | November 13, 2009, 1:55PM

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Senator John McCain (R-AZ)

Sen. Lindsey Graham, not known for holding back criticism of the White House, said today that he has "very strong feelings" about Guantanamo Bay detainees but will hold them in until President Obama returns from his trip to Asia.

Graham (R-SC) just issued this statement responding to the administration's announcement to transfer Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Gitmo detainees to be tried in New York.

"The decision on the proper venue to try Guantanamo detainees, particularly the 9/11 conspirators, is one of the most important decisions we will ever make in the War on Terror. I have had and continue to have very strong feelings on this subject. Those feelings are well-known as evidenced by our debate on the floor of the Senate last week. "I have been asked by the White House to withhold comment about today's Guantanamo decision until I can meet face-to-face with the President after he returns from Asia. As our Commander in Chief, I will honor his request. I look forward to discussing this issue further."

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Guantanamo Bay

Holder Lights Political Firestorm With Detainee Move

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 13, 2009, 12:47PM

Attorney General Eric Holder

At a press conference this morning, Attorney General Eric Holder said he hoped Washington would "leave the politics out of it" when considering his decision to transfer five suspected 9/11 conspirators from the detention center in Guantanamo Bay to New York City for trial in federal court.

His request fell on deaf ears. Before he had even stepped from behind the mics at the Justice Department, politicians on both sides had begun a partisan battle over his decision to charge and try some of the men allegedly responsible for the worst terror attack in U.S. history.

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Greg Craig

Eric Holder: 'Unfair' To Blame Greg Craig For Gitmo Delay

Christina Bellantoni | November 13, 2009, 11:43AM

Attorney General Eric Holder

Reporters asked Attorney General Eric Holder about the departure of White House counsel Greg Craig, and Holder said he was "a little surprised" by the news.

Holder also said Craig was getting "unfair proportion of the blame" for the delay of closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay.

"Greg Craig is a great lawyer, he has been a great friend to the Justice Department," Holder said.

Holder also thanked Craig for his role in the "success" of the Obama administration, including the "effort" to close Gitmo.

Barack Obama

Obama Says He's 'Indebted' To Greg Craig As Counsel Leaves White House

Christina Bellantoni | November 13, 2009, 8:59AM

White House Counsel Greg Craig

President Obama has made official what broke late last night - White House counsel Greg Craig is leaving and being replaced by longtime D.C. lawyer Bob Bauer.

"Greg Craig is a close friend and trusted advisor who tackled many tough challenges as White House Counsel," Obama said in a statement announcing the move, effective Jan. 3.

"Because of Greg's leadership, we have confirmed the first Latina justice on the Supreme Court, set the toughest ethics standards for any administration in history, and ensured that we are keeping the nation secure in a manner that is consistent with our laws and our values," Obama said. "I'm indebted to Greg not only for leading the Counsel's office but for his many decades of service to this country as well. He has been a huge asset in the White House, and he will be missed. I will continue to call on him for advice in the years ahead."

The move had been expected - and written about - for more than a month as details leaked out there was inner-White House tension over Guantanamo Bay. Today White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters in Asia that had nothing to do with the departure.

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Guantanamo Bay

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed To Be Moved From Gitmo To New York

Christina Bellantoni | November 13, 2009, 7:16AM

Attorney General Eric Holder

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has said he masterminded the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, is being transferred from the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to New York to face trial.

A Justice Department official confirmed to TPMDC that Mohammed and four other detainees being held at Gitmo will stand trial in a civilian federal court.

Attorney General Eric Holder will make the announcement today, the official told TPMDC.

The news comes as Obama is traveling to Asia and as officials tell reporters that White House counsel Greg Craig is leaving.

From the Associated Press:

Mohammed and the four others -- Waleed bin Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi and Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali -- are accused of orchestrating the attacks that killed 2,973 people on Sept. 11, 2001.

Mohammed admitted to interrogators that he was the mastermind of the attacks -- he allegedly proposed the concept to Osama bin Laden as early as 1996, obtained funding for the attacks from bin Laden, oversaw the operation and trained the hijackers in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Guantanamo Bay

Holder: Congressional Reticence On Gitmo 'Makes It Harder For Us'

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 6, 2009, 4:25PM

Attorney General Eric Holder

At a briefing in his Justice Department office this afternoon, AG Eric Holder took aim at congressional opposition to bringing terror suspects from Gitmo to the US for trial.

Last week, the House voted overwhelmingly to deny funds to pay for prisoner transfers, citing the fears about terrorists on US soil that have been commonplace on Capitol Hill since President Obama first announced his intention to close Gitmo in a year on Jan 22.

Holder said the vote will slow future prosecutions of Gitmo detainees.

"The restrictions we've had to deal with give me great concern," he said. "They've made it harder for us" to bring prisoners to trial.

Holder said he faces an uphill climb convincing Congress to allow Gitmo prisoners into the US for trial, but he said he plans on taking his case directly to reticent members on their turf if necessary. Holder said he's "had discussions" about going to Capitol Hill to argue the case before last week's House vote, which was nonbinding, becomes part of a future Homeland Security bill.

"We have to make them understand we have the capacity to house these people," he said, pointing out several high-level convicted terrorists already housed in federal prisons after going to trial here in previous years.

As for the Jan. 22, 2010 deadline for closure of Gitmo, Holder said meeting that date will be "difficult." But he said "that doesn't mean we're not going to try to do that."

For his part, Holder said Justice Dept. lawyers "are going through the files" of every detainee at Gitmo to determine how to deal with their case. Holder said the process will be complete by Nov. 16. Whether the end of the review will signal a final chapter in the history of the Gitmo terror detention center remains to be seen.

Despite the political difficulties it has caused, Holder praised Obama's Gitmo deadline in the briefing. "It was the right thing to do," he said. "The timing was wise and it led to the progress we have made."