Eric Holder

Holder: Ghailani Life Sentence Shows Strength Of Justice System

Ryan J. Reilly | January 25, 2011, 1:55PM

Attorney General Eric Holder said the life sentence given to the first former Guantanamo inmate tried in a civilian courtroom today shows the ability of the American legal system to deal with terrorism cases.

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Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani

Republicans Attack Obama Administration Over Terror Trial Outcome

Ryan J. Reilly | November 18, 2010, 10:20AM

Liz Cheney and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

A federal jury's decision to find a former Guantanamo Bay detainee guilty on just one count and acquit him on more than 280 other charges has quickly renewed conservative criticism of the Obama administration's handling of terrorism cases.

"Bad ideas have dangerous consequences," Liz Cheney, Debra Burlingame and William Kristol of Keep America Safe said in a statement issued shortly after the decision came down. "The Obama Administration recklessly insisted on a civilian trial for Ahmed Ghailani, and rolled the dice in a time of war. The Department of Justice says it's pleased by the verdict. Ask the families of the victims if they're pleased. And this result isn't just embarrassing. It's dangerous. It signals weakness in a time of war."

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Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani

First Civilian Trial Of Gitmo Detainee Results In Just One Guilty Finding

Ryan J. Reilly | November 17, 2010, 6:32PM

The low profile trial of the first Guantanamo Bay detainee in civilian court ended late Wednesday with the jury finding the accused terrorist guilty on just one count, a result sure to fuel criticism of the Obama administration's handling of terrorism cases.

Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani stood charged by the Justice Department of conspiring to kill Americans in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa.

After seven days of deliberations, a jury found Ghailani guilty of just one count of conspiracy, acquitting him of multiple other counts including murder and murder conspiracy, said the Associated Press.

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Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani

Government Won't Appeal Judge's Decision In Terror Trial

Ryan J. Reilly | October 12, 2010, 10:48AM

The Obama Justice Department has decided not to appeal a judge's decision to exclude the testimony of a key witness in the trial against Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, the man the government alleges was an Osama bin Laden associate who conspired to kill Americans in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa. The judge decided that, since prosecutors only learned of the witness after the defendant was tortured, the court would not hear his testimony.

The trial is likely to get underway today in the trial against Ghailani.

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Liz Cheney

Cheney: Ruling Against Info Obtained Through Torture Is Obama's Fault

Ryan J. Reilly | October 7, 2010, 10:33AM

Liz Cheney

Yesterday a federal judge decided to exclude testimony from a witness in the trial of a former Guantanamo Bay detainee on the grounds that investigators only learned about the witness only after the suspected terrorist underwent coercive interrogation in a secret CIA prison.

Now Liz Cheney has blamed the Obama administration for the decision to try Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani in civilian court in the first place -- even though it was a Bush administration decision to hold him in a secret prison which lead to the ruling yesterday.

"The Obama Administration has dedicated itself to providing al Qaeda terrorists the kind of due process rights normally reserved for American citizens," Cheney said in a statement sent to TPMMuckraker.

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KSM Trial

Gitmo Detainee Trial Starts In NYC With Little Fanfare Despite Initial Opposition

Ryan J. Reilly | October 6, 2010, 10:13AM

Opponents of trying terrorism suspects in a federal court in New York City openly anticipated a disaster last November after Attorney General Eric Holder announced that Sept. 11 so-called mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other terrorism suspects would be tried in the Big Apple. The civilian court system just wasn't capable of handling these type of issues, they said. The terrorists could get off scot-free, they added, on some technicality and be roaming the streets in no time.

But this week, admitted Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad -- whose case was handled entirely in the domestic courts despite calls for him to be tried in a military tribunal -- was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. And, today, another accused terrorist, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, faces the start of his trial in New York City with virtually no fanfare.

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