Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Representative of Ground Zero and Lower Manhattan as well as Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, issued the following statement on the announcement today by the Department of Justice regarding certain Guantanamo detainees:

“I thank the Department of Justice and Attorney General Eric Holder for their diligent efforts to bring to justice those who have committed acts of terrorism against the United States.  In particular, I applaud the decision to bring those individuals responsible for the attack on the World Trade Center to New York to face trial in our federal courts.  New York is not afraid of terrorists, we want to confront them, we want to bring them to justice, and we want to hold them accountable for their despicable actions. 

“It is fitting that they be tried in New York, where the attack took place.  On that day almost 3,000 innocent men, women, and children were murdered, and New York has waited far too long for the opportunity to hold these terrorists responsible. We have handled terrorist trials before, and we welcome this opportunity to do so again.  Any suggestion that our prosecutors and our law enforcement personnel are not up to the task of safely holding and successfully prosecuting terrorists on American soil is insulting and untrue.  I invite any of my colleagues who say that they are afraid to bring detainees into the United States to face trial to come to New York and see how we handle them. 

“Trying these alleged terrorists in New York also will allow family members of 9/11 victims to see these trials and confront these defendants in open court. These families deserve that opportunity, and I thank the Department of Justice for providing it.

“Finally, however, I am disappointed that the Attorney General has decided to pursue cases against other Guantanamo detainees in military commissions.  While Congress has reformed some aspects of that system, the military commissions are no substitute for trials in our federal courts or through courts-martial.  We must ensure that these commissions are not simply used as a lesser vehicle for cases in which the evidence is not sufficient.”