New York politicians call for 9/11 trial to be moved

Barack Obama is considering moving the trial of the alleged September 11 terrorists outside of New York City amid worries about the security and cost, according to officials. The original plan was for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged ringleader, and his four accomplices to stand trial at a courthouse just blocks from where the World Trade Centre stood. But officials from the Obama administration yesterday admitted they were looking at alternative venues outside Manhattan, amid mounting pressure from New York politicians concerned about the cost and logistics of keeping the city secure during such a high-profile trial. City officials have estimated security and logistical costs could total more than $200m (£124m) a year for a trial that could last several years, the New York Times reported today . Some politicians have also complained that a trial could make the city an even more attractive target for al-Qaida. Yesterday New York's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, became the latest high-profile figure to call for the defendants to stand trial elsewhere when he called the attorney general, Eric Holder, to lobby for moving the trial outside lower Manhattan. New York's senior senator, Charles E Schumer, a Democrat, also said he was encouraging the Obama administration "to find suitable alternatives". "There are places that would be less expensive for the taxpayers and less disruptive for New York City," Bloomberg said. Bloomberg initially supported the Manhattan trial decision, declaring in November: "It is fitting that 9/11 suspects face justice near the World Trade Centre site, where so many New Yorkers were murdered." Yesterday the president said through a spokesman that he still believed a civilian criminal trial for Mohammed, who has admitted planning the attacks, and four accomplices could be conducted "successfully and securely in the United States". He did not mention New York specifically. Obama left the decision on possible alternate sites to the justice department, which was scrambling to assess the options, administration officials said. A decision to move the trial would be a retreat by the administration from its calculated choice in November to bring the defendants to a courthouse near where the World Trade Centre stood. But Obama continues to insist that it is right that the alleged plotters face a civilian trial, which supporters say would have more legitimacy than a military tribunal. A White House spokesman, Bill Burton, called Mohammed, the self-described 9/11 mastermind, "a murderous thug" and said "the president is committed to seeing that he's brought to justice". Republican Congressman Peter King said he had introduced a bill to bar justice department funds to try Guantánamo detainees in federal civilian courts. He called it "one of the worst decisions ever made by any president" and said terrorist suspects should be tried by military commissions. In addition, six senators, including last year's presidential candidate John McCain, wrote to Holder and urged him to abandon the idea. The letter read: "You will be providing them one of the most visible platforms in the world to exalt their past acts and to rally others in support of further terrorism." It was signed by three Republicans, two Democrats and one independent senator, Connecticut's Joseph Lieberman. David Paterson, New York's governor, said that although he was certain New York City would be safe, he thought there should be a discussion with federal officials over whether to move the trial. "It's going to cost an immense amount of money, it's going to tie up traffic, it's going to destroy the economic development that's been recovered in lower Manhattan," Paterson said. "Every time there is a loud noise during the two years of those trials it's going to frighten people, and I think New Yorkers have been through enough. "We were the epicentre of the attack on this country on September 11, and in my opinion maybe we all need to sit down and see if there isn't another venue that would enhance the public safety of that area, which went through probably the worst attack this country has ever sustained."