Zazi and KSM are Not the Same

Washington, D.C. — House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today criticized Attorney General Holder’s claim that the plea of Najibullah Zazi is proof that the federal courts can successfully handle the Gitmo terror trials. 

Ranking Member Smith: “The Attorney General claims that the plea of Zazi is proof that federal courts can handle the trials of terrorists currently held at Guantanamo Bay.  But comparing the prosecution of Zazi—a legal permanent resident of the U.S.—to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed—who engaged in an act of war against the U.S. by plotting the mass murder of Americans on 9-11—is misleading at best. 

“By transporting Gitmo terrorists to the U.S. for prosecution, the Administration is granting detainees broad constitutional rights that they otherwise do not possess.  Zazi, however, already had these rights as a legal resident of the U.S. apprehended inside the U.S.

“The American people are overwhelmingly opposed to bringing Gitmo detainees to the U.S. for trial. Americans do not owe KSM and the 9-11 conspirators any more rights or freedoms than they are being afforded at Guantanamo Bay.  They are enemies of America, not American citizens or legal residents.  They should be tried as enemies in military commissions at Guantanamo Bay.”