HUH?  ARE WE READING THIS RIGHT? – AT 12:17 P.M. ET:  Just when we thought it was safe to go back to New York...

The press has been filled with reports, in the last few days, that the Obama administration has given up plans to try the mastermind of 9-11 in an ordinary New York civilian courtroom.  We've been told that the Obamans are searching for alternative sites, including military bases.  But now the White House news secretary tells us that the whole thing is up in the air.  This is pretty unbelievable.  From The Hill:

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Sunday that the despite reports of mulling new locations to try 9/11 terrorism suspects, the administration still very much wants Khalid Sheikh Mohammed tried in the Big Apple.

"He's going to meet justice," Gibbs said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday morning. "He's going to meet his maker. He's likely to be executed" for the "heinous" crimes of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Mohammed has claimed he was the al-Qaeda mastermind behind the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

Is this weird, or what?  You mean all the stories are untrue? 

And what about statements that KSM is "likely to be executed"?  Any defense lawyer will use that to claim that the terrorist can't get a fair trial because the atmosphere has been contaminated by prejudicial statements coming from the White House.

When pressed about the location of the trial, as the plan to try KSM in Manhattan has drawn fire from many New Yorkers and Republicans, Gibbs said Attorney General Eric Holder felt that the "best place" to try 9/11 suspects would be in an "American courtroom."

"We are talking with the authorities in New York," Gibbs said. "We understand their logistical concerns and their security concerns that are involved."

"We want to see this man tried and brought to justice in the place where this crime was committed," Gibbs said.

What's going on here?  Did the Democratic left wing get to the White House to demand its New York show trial, which would give KSM the greatest media megaphone in the world, which is what a lot of people on the trendy left would like?

The administration is in disarray.  No headline there.  You'd think they'd nail this down. 

But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is quoted later in the story as saying that support for the trial being held in New York is collapsing.  Congress can cut off the funds.  No matter what Gibbs says, KSM will have to meet justice somewhere else.

January 31, 2010