DOJ's new web page
Facing mounting pressure from both Democrats and Republicans over its handling of recent terrorism cases, the Justice Department is taking unprecedented steps to push back against critics.
Last night the Justice Department unveiled an entire web page — titled “The Criminal Justice System as a Counterterrorism Tool” — to address the growing debate.
One DOJ official described the new web page as an effort “to get the facts out there” and show that “the policy for handling these terrorism cases has not changed” from the way previous administrations handled such cases.
The web page includes links to six Justice Department press releases, the oldest being Attorney General Eric Holder’s announcement three months ago that the alleged 9/11 plotters would be coming to New York City for trial.
The Justice Department is now looking at whether that trial should be held elsewhere.
The new web page also includes a “fact sheet” about using civilian courts to fight terrorism, and it includes a letter that Holder and Defense Secretary Robert Gates sent Senate leaders in October, after Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) proposed an amendment barring use of federal funds to prosecute Guantanamo Bay detainees in the United States.
Graham introduced a similar bill today, but this time he has been joined by Democratic senators Blanche Lincoln (AR) and Jim Webb (VA).
A statement at the top of the Justice Department’s web page, www.justice.gov/cjs, says: “The Obama administration is committed to using every instrument of national power to fight terrorism – including intelligence and military operations as well as the criminal justice system. As a counter-terrorism tool, the criminal justice system has proven incredibly effective in both incapacitating terrorists and gathering valuable intelligence from and about terrorists. In every instance, the administration will use the tool that is most effective for fighting terrorism, and will make those decisions based on pragmatism, not ideology.”
This comes a week after the Justice Department quietly posted online a one-minute video message from Holder.
“I want to tell you about some ways the Justice Department is working to protect our national security,” Holder said at the top of the video.
But he never offered any specifics about his department’s anti-terrorism efforts.
“The safety of Americans remains our top priority,” he said. “We’re focused on combatting terrorism … and bringing criminals to justice. … Security, accountability, transparency. That’s what the American people deserve, and it’s what you can expect from your Department of Justice.”