Today, Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Constitution and Civil Justice of the House Judiciary Committee, praised the Obama Administration for its decision to charge and prosecute Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, in the United States court system.  Representative Nadler issued the following statement in response to the Administration’s announcement that Mr. Tsarnaev would be charged with two federal criminal charges, use of a weapon of mass destruction and malicious destruction of property resulting in death.

“I applaud the Administration for its decision to charge and prosecute Mr. Tsarnaev in the federal courts.  Our court system is the finest in the world, and our civilian prosecutors have proven themselves fully capable of bringing criminals and terrorists to justice.  As the Administration rightly concluded, Mr. Tsarnaev – a United States Citizen caught in the United States – cannot be tried in a military tribunal.  The demands to classify and treat him as an “enemy combatant” are unnecessary and unwise.  Throughout this nation’s history, we have caught, charged and convicted those who would do us harm – individuals like Timothy McVeigh, whose bombing of a federal building claimed 168 lives – without abandoning due process of law.  I am fully confident that law enforcement and intelligence experts will get the information they need, and ensure that justice is served in this case, without abandoning the Constitution and our commitment to the rule of law.”