Eric Holder's Trials and Tribulations

The Attorney General wanted to prosecute a top terrorist in New York City. Plan B, anyone?

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

President Obama has tapped Eric Holder to make the hard calls and then defend them

In January, when most of Attorney General Eric Holder's friends and enemies turned against his plan to try 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a federal courthouse in lower Manhattan, one man stood by him. And he was a good friend to have. At a Situation Room session on Jan. 29, Holder was virtually alone in arguing for sticking with a civilian trial for KSM. A Manhattan jury, he said, would produce a quick conviction — and that image would help restore America's reputation in the world. When others in the room argued in favor of military tribunals with special rules...

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