Graham Amendment: No Funding to Try 9/11 Conspirators in US

Graham has also gotten the support of some 170 family members of those killed in the 9/11 attacks. They have signed a letter stating that they “adamantly oppose prosecuting the 9/11 conspirators in Article III courts, which would provide them with the very rights that may make it possible for them to escape the justice which they so richly deserve.” The letter goes on,

You can read the full letter after the jump…

November 5, 2009 United States Senate The U.S. Capitol Washington, D.C. Dear Senators: On September 11, 2001, the entire world watched as 19 men hijacked four commercial airliners, attacking passengers and killing crew members, and then turned the fully-fueled planes into missiles, flying them into the World Trade Center twin towers, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. 3,000 of our fellow human beings died in two hours. The nation’s commercial aviation system ground to a halt. Lower Manhattan was turned into a war zone, shutting down the New York Stock Exchange for days and causing tens of thousands of residents and workers to be displaced. In nine months, an estimated 50,000 rescue and recovery workers willingly exposed themselves to toxic conditions to dig out the ravaged remains of their fellow citizens buried in 1.8 million tons of twisted steel and concrete. The American people were rightly outraged by this act of war. Whether the cause was retribution or simple recognition of our common humanity, the words “Never Forget” were invoked in tearful or angry rectitude, defiantly written in the dust of Ground Zero or humbly penned on makeshift memorials erected all across the land. The country was united in its determination that these acts should not go unmarked and unpunished. Eight long years have passed since that dark and terrible day. Sadly, some have forgotten the promises we made to those whose lives were taken in such a cruel and vicious manner. We have not forgotten. We are the husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers and other family members of the victims of these depraved and barbaric attacks, and we feel a profound obligation to ensure that justice is done on their behalf. It is incomprehensible to us that members of the United States Congress would propose that the same men who today refer to the murder of our loved ones as a “blessed day” and who targeted the United States Capitol for the same kind of destruction that was wrought in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania, should be the beneficiaries of a social compact of which they are not a part, do not recognize, and which they seek to destroy: the United States Constitution. We adamantly oppose prosecuting the 9/11 conspirators in Article III courts, which would provide them with the very rights that may make it possible for them to escape the justice which they so richly deserve. We believe that military commissions, which have a long and honorable history in this country dating back to the Revolutionary War, are the appropriate legal forum for the individuals who declared war on America. With utter disdain for all norms of decency and humanity, and in defiance of the laws of warfare accepted by all civilized nations, these individuals targeted tens of thousands of civilian non-combatants, brutally killing 3,000 men, women and children, injuring thousands more, and terrorizing millions. We support Senate Amendment 2669 (pursuant to H.R. 2847, the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Act of 2010), “prohibiting the use of funds for the prosecution in Article III courts of the United States of individuals involved in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.” We urge its passage by all those members of the United States Senate who stood on the senate floor eight years ago and declared that the perpetrators of these attacks would answer to the American people. The American people will not understand why those same senators now vote to allow our cherished federal courts to be manipulated and used as a stage by the “mastermind of 9/11” and his co-conspirators to condemn this nation and rally their fellow terrorists the world over. As one New York City police detective, who lost 60 fellow officers on 9/11, told members of the Department of Justice’s Detainee Policy Task Force at a meeting last June, “You people are out of touch. You need to hear the locker room conversations of the people who patrol your streets and fight your wars.” The President of the United States has stated that military commissions, promulgated by congressional legislation and recently reformed with even greater protections for defendants, are a legal and appropriate forum to try individuals captured pursuant the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force Act, passed by Congress in response to the attack on America. Nevertheless, on May 21, 2009, President Obama announced a new policy that Al-Qaeda terrorists should be tried in Article III courts “whenever feasible.” We strongly object to the President creating a two-tier system of justice for terrorists in which those responsible for the death of thousands on 9/11 will be treated as common criminals and afforded the kind of platinum due process accorded American citizens, yet members of Al Qaeda who aspire to kill Americans but who do not yet have blood on their hands, will be treated as war criminals. The President offers no explanation or justification for this contradiction, even as he readily acknowledges that the 9/11 conspirators, now designated “unprivileged enemy belligerents,” are appropriately accused of war crimes. We believe that this two-tier system, in which war criminals receive more due process protections than would-be war criminals, will be mocked and rejected in the court of world opinion as an ill-conceived contrivance aimed, not at justice, but at the appearance moral authority. The public has a right to know that prosecuting the 9/11 conspirators in federal courts will result in a plethora of legal and procedural problems that will severely limit or even jeopardize the successful prosecution of their cases. Ordinary criminal trials do not allow for the exigencies associated with combatants captured in war, in which evidence is not collected with CSI-type chain-of-custody standards. None of the 9/11 conspirators were given the Miranda warnings mandated in Article III courts. Prosecutors contend that the lengthy, self-incriminating tutorials Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others gave to CIA interrogators about 9/11 and other terrorist operations–called “pivotal for the war against Al-Qaeda” in a recently released, declassified 2005 CIA report–may be excluded in federal trials. Further, unlike military commissions, all of the 9/11 cases will be vulnerable in federal court to defense motions that their prosecutions violate the Speedy Trial Act. Indeed, the judge presiding in the case of Ahmed Ghailani, accused of participating in the 1998 bombing of the American Embassy in Kenya, killing 212 people, has asked for that issue to be briefed by the defense. Ghailani was indicted in 1998, captured in Pakistan in 2004, and held at Guantanamo Bay until 2009. Additionally, federal rules risk that classified evidence protected in military commissions would be exposed in criminal trials, revealing intelligence sources and methods and compromising foreign partners, who will be unwilling to join with the United States in future secret or covert operations if doing so will risk exposure in the dangerous and hostile communities where they operate. This poses a clear and present danger to the public. The safety and security of the American people is the President’s and Congress’s highest duty. Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey recently wrote in the Wall Street Journal that “the challenges of terrorism trials are overwhelming.” Mr. Mukasey, formerly a federal judge in the Southern District of New York, presided over the multi-defendant terrorism prosecution of Sheikh Omar Abel Rahman, the cell that attacked the World Trade Center in 1993 and conspired to attack other New York landmarks. In addition to the evidentiary problems cited above, he expressed concern about courthouse and jail facility security, the need for anonymous jurors to be escorted under armed guard, the enormous costs associated with the use of U.S. marshals necessarily deployed from other jurisdictions, and the danger to the community which, he says, will become a target for homegrown terrorist sympathizers or embedded Al Qaeda cells. Finally, there is the sickening prospect of men like Khalid Sheikh Moham

med being brought to the federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan, or the courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, just a few blocks away from the scene of carnage eight years ago, being given a Constitutionally mandated platform upon which he can mock his victims, exult in the suffering of their families, condemn the judge and his own lawyers, and rally his followers to continue jihad against the men and women of the U.S. military, fighting and dying in the sands of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan on behalf of us all. There is no guarantee that Mr. Mohammed and his co-conspirators will plead guilty, as in the case of Zacarias Moussaoui, whose prosecution nevertheless took four years, and who is currently attempting to recant that plea. Their attorneys will be given wide latitude to mount a defense that turns the trial into a shameful circus aimed at vilifying agents of the CIA for alleged acts of “torture,” casting the American government and our valiant military as a force of evil instead of a force for good in places of the Muslim world where Al Qaeda and the Taliban are waging a brutal war against them and the local populations. For the families of those who died on September 11, the most obscene aspect of giving Constitutional protections to those who planned the attacks with the intent of inflicting maximum terror on their victims in the last moments of their lives will be the opportunities this affords defense lawyers to cast their clients as victims. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-conspirators are asking to plead guilty, now, before a duly-constituted military commission. We respectfully ask members of Congress, why don’t we let them? Respectfully submitted, Dr. Kenneth Paul Ambrose and Mrs. Sharon Ambrose Parents of Dr. Paul W. Ambrose, 32, American Flt. 77, Pentagon Margit Kastel-Arias Wife of Adam P. Arias, 37, Eurobrokers, Two WTC, 84th Fl Donald C. Arias, Lt Col, USAF (ret) Brother of Adam P. Arias Thomas V. Arias Brother of Adam P. Arias Andrew D. Arias Brother of Adam P. Arias Lorraine Beliveau Sister of Adam P. Arias Lauren Lucchini Sister of Adam P. Arias Karen A. Arias Sister-in-law of Adam P. Arias Nicholas C. Arias Nephew of Adam P. Arias Maureen Basnicki Wife Ken Basnicki, 48, Canadian citizen, One WTC, 106 Fl. Emily Schenkel Goddaughter of Lorraine Bay, 58, Flight Attendant, United Flt. 93, Shanksville Edwin Root Cousin of Lorraine Bay Margaret Beamer Mother of Todd Beamer, 33, passenger, United Flt. 93, Shanksville David Beamer Father of Todd Beamer Michele Beamer Sorensen Sister of Todd Beamer Bonnie Beamer Aunt of Todd Beamer Richard Young Uncle of Todd Beamer Alice Hoagland Mother of Mark Bingham, 31, passenger, United Flt. 93, Shanksville Herbert K. Hoglan Grandfather of Mark Bingham D. Linden Hoagland Uncle of Mark Bingham Lee N. Hoglan Uncle of Mark Bingham Vaughn V. Hoglan Uncle of Mark Bingham Candyce S. Hoglan Aunt of Mark Bingham Maureen Bosco Mother of Richard E. Bosco, 34, Citibank, One WTC, 105, Fl. William Bosco Father of Richard E. Bosco James Boyle Father of Firefighter Michael Boyle, 37, Engine 33, WTC Pat Waugh Mother of Sandy W. Bradshaw,38, Flight Attendant, United Flt. 93, Shanksville John Waugh Father of Sandy W. Bradshaw Tracy Peele Sister of Sandy W. Bradshaw Elizabeth M. Berry Sister of Captain William F. Burke, Jr., 46, Engine 21, WTC Christopher E. Burke Brother of Captain William F. Burke, Jr. Michael T. Burke Brother of Captain William F. Burke, Jr. James M. Burke Brother of Captain William F. Burke, Jr. Janet M. Roy Sister of Captain William F. Burke, Jr. Bradley Burlingame Brother of Captain Charles F. Burlingame, III, 51, pilot, American Flt. 77, Pentagon Diane McDavitt Sister-in-law of Captain Charles F. Burlingame, III Dr. Mark Burlingame Brother of Captain Charles F. Burlingame, III Anine Burlingame Sister-in-law of Captain Charles F. Burlingame, III Debra Burlingame Sister of Captain Charles F. Burlingame, III Robert Fraina Brother-in-law of Captain Charles F. Burlingame, III Beverly Burnett Mother of Thomas E. Burnett, 38, Jr., passenger, United Flt. 93, Shanksville Thomas E. Burnett, Sr. Father of Thomas E. Burnett Barbara Catuzzi Mother of Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas, 38, passenger, United Flt. 93, Shanksville Larry Catuzzi Father of Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas Dara Catuzzi Near Sister of Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas Jordan Cayne Father of Jason David Cayne, Cantor Fitzgerald, 32, One WTC, 104 Fl. Laura Brough Daughter of Georgine Rose Corrigan, 55, passenger, United Fl. 93, Shanksville Patricia Schiavo Mother-in-law of Jack L. D’Ambrosi, Jr. Cantor Fitzgerald, One WTC, 103 Fl. Dominic Schiavo Father-in-law of Jack L. D’Ambrosi, Jr. Leslie Dimmling Wife of William J. Dimmling, 47, Marsh & McLennan, One WTC Christopher O’Connor Cousin of Commander Patrick Dunn, 39, United States Navy, Pentagon Jeanne Evans Sister of FDNY Firefighter Robert Evans, 36, Engine 33, WTC Christina Evans-Serafin Mother of FDNY Firefighter Robert Evans Starling Seravin Step-father of FDNY Firefighter Robert Evans Anne Malave Aunt of FDNY Firefighter Robert Evans Diane Fairben Mother of Keith G. Fairben, 24, Paramedic, NY Presbyterian Hospital, Two WTC Ken Fairben Father of Keith G. Fairben Shirley A. Felt Mother of Edward P. Felt, 41, passenger, United Flt. 93, Shanksville Sandra V. Felt Widow of Edward P. Felt Gordon W. Felt Brother of Edward P. Felt Andrew Garcia Son of Andrew T. Garcia, 62, passenger, United Flt. 93, Shanksville Audrey M. Olive Daughter of Andrew T. Garcia Kelly Garcia Arrillaga Daughter of Andrew T. Garcia Claudette Greene Wife of Donald F. Greene, 52, passenger, United Flt. 93, Shanksville Bonnie Greene Le Var Sister of Donald F. Greene Debbie Rand Cousin of Donald F. Greene Kathleen Haberman Mother of Andrea Lyn Haberman, 25, Carr Futures, One WTC, 92nd Fl. Gordon Haberman Father of Andrea Lyn Haberman Julie A. Haberman Sister of Andrea Lyn Haberman Shirley Hemenway Mother of ET1 Ronald J. Hemenway, 37, Chief, Naval Operations Office, Pentagon Robert Hemenway Father of ET1 Ronald J. Hemenway Theresa Holland Mother of Joseph E. Holland, III, 32, Carr Futures, One WTC, 92nd Fl. Joseph F. Holland, Jr. Father of Joseph F. Holland, III Rose Lang Mother of Rosanne P. Lang, 42, Cantor Fitzgerald, One WTC, 104th Fl., and Grandmother of Brendan M. Lang, 30, Structuretone, Two WTC William M. Lang Father of Rosanne P. Lang, and Grandfather of Brendan M. Lang Donna M. Caballero Sister of Rosanne P. Lang, and Aunt of Brendan M. Lang Matthew D. Lang Brother of Rosanne P. Lang, and Uncle of Brendan M. Lang Katherine V. Lang Sister-in-law of Rosanne P. Lang, and Aunt of Brendan M. Lang Al Caballero Brother-in-law of Rosanne P. Lang, and Uncle of Brendan M. Lang Beth Ann Caballero Niece of Rosanne P. Lang, and Cousin of Brendan M. Lang William Caballero Nephew of Rosanne P. Lang, and Cousin of Brendan M. Lang Amanda Caballero Niece of Rosanne P. Lang, and Cousin of Brendan M. Lang Joseph Caballero Nephew of Rosanne P. Lang, and Cousin of Brendan M. Lang Lee Ielpi Father of Firefighter Jonathan L. Ielpi, 29, Squad 288, WTC Patty Sumner Sister of FDNY Lieutenant Joseph G. Leavey, 45, Ladder 15, WTC Tim Sumner Brother-in-law of FDNY Joseph G. Leavey Bobbie Low Mother of Sara Elizabeth Low, 28, Flight Attendant, American Flt. 11, WTC Mike Low Father of Sara Elizabeth Low Alyson Low Sister of Sara Elizabeth Low Edith Lutnick, Executive Director, The Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund Sister of Gary Frederick Lutnick, 36, Cantor Fitzgerald, One WTC, 104th Fl. Carole O’Hare Daughter of Hilda Marcin, 79, passenger, United Flt. 93, Shanksville Michael McAvoy Brother of FDNY Firefighter John K. McAvoy, 47, Ladder 3, WTC Natalie McAvoy Sister-in-law of Firefighter John K. McAvoy Michael J. McAvoy Nephew of FDNY Firefighter John K. McAvoy Marlena Joy McAvoy Niece of FDNY Firefighter John K. McAvoy Joanne Lane Segal Friend of FDNY Firefighter John K. McAvoy Lori Montesion Cousin of FDNY Firefighter John K. McAvoy Holly Miller Hedley Wife of Special Master Officer Craig J. Miller, 29, U.S. Secret Service, WTC Vera Murphy Trayner Wife of Patrick Sean Murphy, 36, Marsh & McClennan, One WTC, 97th Fl. Lori Murphy M

other of Patrick Sean Murphy Thomas Murphy Father of Patrick Sean Murphy Gary Nelson Father of Ann N. Nelson, 30, Cantor Fitzgerald, One WTC, 104th Fl Mary Novotny and Bill Novotny Parents of Brian Christopher Novotny, 33, Cantor Fitzgerald, One WTC, 104th Fl. Bill and Lorraine Novotny Brother and Sister-in-law of Brian Christopher Novotny Michael and Eileen Novotny Brother and Sister-in-law of Brian Christopher Novotny Jeanne and Steve Lawler Sister and Brother-in-law of Brian Christopher Novotny Daniel and Stacey Novotny Brother and Sister-in-law of Brian Christopher Novotny Robert Novotny Brother of Brian Christopher Novotny Kevin and Kelli Novotny Brother and Sister-in-law of Brian Christopher Novotny Dorothy O’Berg Mother of FDNY Firefighter Dennis P. O’Berg, 28, Ladder 105, WTC Dennis E. O’Berg Father of FDNY Firefighter Dennis P. O’Berg Elizabeth O’Berg Grandmother of FDNY Firefighter Dennis P. O’Berg Patricia Ferguson Sister of FDNY Firefighter Dennis P. O’Berg Douglas Delguidice Uncle of FDNY Firefighter Dennis P. O’Berg Agnes Delguidice Aunt of FDNY Firefighter Dennis P. O’Berg Robert O’Berg Uncle of FDNY Firefighter Dennis P. O’Berg Carolyn Coyne Aunt of FDNY Firefighter Dennis P. O’Berg Thomas Coyne Uncle of FDNY Firefighter Dennis P. O’Berg Christian Coyne Cousin of FDNY Firefighter Dennis P. O’Berg Geraldine Davie Mother of Amy O’Doherty, 26, Cantor Fitzgerald, One WTC, 104th Fl. Maura O’Doherty Sister of Amy O’Doherty Dolores Owens Mother of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 42, Cantor Fitzgerald, One WTC, 104th Fl. Peter J. Owens, Sr. Father of Peter J. Owens, Jr. Kevin Owens Brother of Peter J. Owens, Jr. Terence Owens Brother of Peter J. Owens, Jr. Thomas Owens Brother of Peter J. Owens, Jr. James Considine Uncle of Peter J. Owens, Jr. Noreen Considene Aunt of Peter J. Owens, Jr. Elizabeth Stanton Cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr. Thomas Stanton Cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr. Kristina Stanton Cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr. Jenna Stanton Cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr. Briana Stanton Cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr. Thomas Stanton, Jr. Cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr. Raymond Campbell Cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr. Kathy Campbell Cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr. Abiane Campbell Cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr. Kevin Welsh Cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr. Ebit Fitzhenry Parks Mother of Robert E. Parks, Jr., 47, Cantor Fitzgerald, One WTC, 105th Fl. E. Betzy Parks Sister of Robert E. Parks, Jr. Lauren Parks Sister of Robert E. Parks, Jr. David L. Parks Brother of Robert E. Parks, Jr. Carol Parks Clancy Sister of Robert E. Parks, Jr. Pat Robert Clancy Brother-in-law of Robert E. Parks, Jr. Maureen Fitzhenry Aunt of Robert E. Parks, Jr. Jack Fitzhenry Uncle of Robert E. Parks, Jr. Brian Fitzhenry Cousin of Robert E. Parks, Jr. Jeff Fitzhenry Cousin of Robert E. Parks, Jr. Beth Fitzhenry Fylak Cousin of Robert E. Parks, Jr. D. Hamilton Peterson Son of Donald A. Peterson, 66, and Stepson of Jean H. Peterson, 55, passengers, United Flt. 93, Shanksville Julia E. Peterson Daughter-in-law of Donald A. Peterson, and Jean H. Peterson Firefighter Robert Reeg Survivor, FDNY Engine 44, WTC Brian Long Son of Diane Simmons, 54, and George Simmons, 57, passengers, American Flt. 77, Pentagon Melissa Price Long Fiancee of FDNY Firefighter Brian E. Sweeney, 29, Rescue 1, Two WTC, and Daughter-in-law of Diane and George Simmons Freddy Helm Brother of Diane Simmons and Brother-in-law of George Simmons Andrew Ficarella Brother -in-law of Diane and George Simmons Tricial Ficarella Sister-in-law of Diane and George Simmons Irene Johnson Cousin of Diane Simmons Marion Kminek Mother of Mari-Rae Sopper, 35, passenger, American Flt. 77, Pentagon Frank Kminek Father of Mari-Rae Sopper Shannon J. Spann Wife of Johnny Micheal Spann, 32, Central Intelligence Agency, killed in action November 25, 2001, Qala-i-Jangi, Afghanistan Johnny Spann Father of CIA Agent Johnny Micheal Spann Gail Spann Mother of CIA Agent Johnny Micheal Spann Alison Spann Daughter of CIA Agent Johnny Micheal Spann Emily Spann Daughter of CIA Agent Johnny Micheal Spann Tanya Spann Ingram Sister of CIA Agent Johnny Micheal Spann Tammy Spann Dunavant Sister of CIA Agent Johnny Micheal Spann Mary Ann Strada Mother of Thomas S. Strada, 41, Cantor Fitzgerald, One WTC, 104th Fl. Ernest Strada Father of Thomas S. Strada John Pasquale Father-in-law of Andrew Stern, 40, Cantor Fitzgerald, One WTC, 104th Fl. Florence Pasquale Mother-in-law of Andrew Stern Mary Ann Sweeney Mother of FDNY Firefighter Brian E. Sweeney, 29, Rescue 1, Two WTC Jan Vigiano Mother of FDNY Firefighter John Vigiano, 36, Ladder 132, WTC, and NYPD Detective Joseph Vigiano, 34, Emergency Service Unit 2,WTC John T. Vigiano Father of FDNY Firefighter John Vigiano, and NYPD Detective Joseph Vigiano Kevin Jacobs Brother of Deborah Jacobs Welsh, Flight Attendant, 49, United Flt. 93, Shanksville Mary Louise White Mother of Honor Elizabeth Wainio, 27, passenger, United Flt. 93, Shanksville