Read the transcript of Senators Mitch McConnell and Jack Reed appearance on 'FOX News Sunday' (11-15-09), with Chris Wallace:
WALLACE: I want to start where we ended with Mayor Giuliani. Military commissions have been reformed by Congress. Attorney General Holder announced Friday he is going to use them...
REED: Right.
WALLACE: ... as a legitimate legal forum to try five of the other Guantanamo detainees. Why not use them for the alleged 9/11 conspirators?
REED: Well, first of all, these 9/11 conspirators are heinous criminals, terrorists. The damage they've done to New York and the nation are significant. And they have to be treated, I think, fairly but with all due process, but with great, I think, sensitivity to the crimes they've committed against America.
The attorney general pointed out very clearly that there are several factors -- the location of the incident, the type of victims, the investigative services that are engaged in this process -- and that led him to conclude that the best forum -- and also, I think as a prosecutor -- the best forum to guarantee the success of the prosecution was a federal court, and in this case in New York City.
WALLACE: Let me ask you about a point that Mayor Giuliani made, that the Obama administration is holding these -- his allegation is -- holding these trials in New York in civilian court to make a political statement -- this president is different than the last president, and to say to the world, "We're different."
REED: Well, as you pointed out, in 2006, Moussaoui, the 20th hijacker, under the Bush administration was tried in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. Mayor Giuliani was one who testified in the penalty phase and he, as you indicated, claimed this was a symbol of American justice, as he said in 1993.
But this was not 1993. This was 2006. The alternative existed for a military tribunal then. The Bush administration decided to make the case in federal court. They succeeded. A hundred and ninety or so terrorists have been convicted in federal courts, only a handful -- less than 10 -- in tribunals.
There are 200 individuals serving time in federal facilities now for their terrorist crimes. So what was a statesmanlike decision by the Bush administration can't be a political decision by this administration.
WALLACE: Before we get into some of the specific risks, let me ask you a more fundamental question a lot of people are asking. Why do these men, allegedly enemy combatants who have declared war on the U.S. -- why do they deserve the same constitutional protections as an American citizen?
REED: Well, the court has determined that they deserve some constitutional protection. That was the whole issue in the Hamdan case and other cases by the Supreme Court.
WALLACE: But they could have fewer constitutional protections in a military commission.
REED: They could have if they were tried under military law under the provisions we set up. But they're also criminals. And I think this debate about are we playing into the hands of terrorists -- all of these, particularly the sheikh, Mohammed, wants to be considered a holy warrior, a jihadist.
And if we try him before military officers, that image of a soldier will be portrayed by the Islamic community. That's not the image we want. These are heinous murderers.
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