[JURIST] New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Wednesday cited costs and potential disruptions to the lives of New Yorkers in urging the federal government not to try alleged 9/11 conspirator Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other high-profile terror suspects in New York City. Bloomberg said a military base may be a more appropriate venue for the trial since they are generally in secluded areas, though he said his request was not based on security concerns. Earlier this month Bloomberg claimed that providing security for the trial in New York would cost the city more than $216 million in the first year and $206 million in any additional years. Bloomberg originally backed the idea of trying some of the terrorists currently held in the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in Manhattan due to its proximity to ground zero and the symbolic significance of convicting the suspects there.
In November, US Attorney General Eric Holder appeared before the Senate to defend plans to try Mohammed, Ramzi Bin Al Shibh, Walid Bin Attash, Ali Abdul-Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Al Hawsaw in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Earlier in November, the US Senate defeated an amendment to an appropriations bill that would have prevented Guantanamo detainees accused of involvement in 9/11 from being tried in federal courts. In October, US President Barack Obama signed into law the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2010, which allows for Guantanamo Bay detainees to be transferred to the US for prosecution and, among other provisions, requires certain information about each transferred detainee to be disclosed to Congress including costs, legal rationales, and possible risks.