President Trump would consider designating the man suspected of launching a terrorist attack in New York City on Tuesday as an “enemy combatant,” but was not calling for the suspect to be sent to Guantanamo Bay when he said earlier Wednesday that he was weighing doing so, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Wednesday.
“I believe he was addressing his frustration with the lengthy process that often comes with a case like this,” Sanders told reporters at the White House.
“The point he was making today, he supports, or would support, that, but he wasn’t necessarily advocating for that,” she added.
Trump responded to shouted questions from reporters earlier Wednesday about whether the suspect should go to Guantanamo Bay to await a military trial by acknowledging that he is considering it as an option.
“I would certainly consider that, send him to Gitmo. I would certainly consider that, yes,” Trump said.
Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, 29, is accused of ramming a rented truck into a group of pedestrians in New York City on Tuesday, killing eight people and wounding 11 others. He pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in notes found around the scene of the attack.
Trump lamented the possibility that the suspect’s case could languish in the criminal justice system.
“They’ll go through court for years,” Trump said of terror suspects. “We need quick justice, and we need strong justice.”
“What we have right now is a joke, and it’s a laughing stock and no wonder so much of this stuff takes place,” he added.
Sanders said the White House would consider designating the suspect as an “enemy combatant,” but noted such a designation would have to come from an inter-agency process.
“I don’t believe that determination has been made,” she said. “I think the actions that he took certainly justify that.”
The trial venue for terror suspects has become controversial in the past. For example, the trial for the alleged mastermind of the 2012 Benghazi terror attack, Ahmed Abu Khatallah, did not begin until last month. The Obama administration’s decision to try him in civilian court was contentious at the time.
