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Giuliani Livid Over Bringing 9/11 Trials to NYC

2009_11_giulianicnn.jpg Former mayor Rudy Giuliani made the talk show rounds this morning to denounce the Obama administration's decision to try five accused 9/11 plotters—including mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed—in New York City's federal court. On Fox News Sunday, Giuliani said the White House was "repeating the mistake of history" and had reverted to a "pre-9/11 approach... What the Obama administration is telling us loud and clear is that both in substance and reality, the War on Terror from their point of view is over. [Mohammad] should be tried in a military tribunal. He is a war criminal. This is an act of war."

Giuiliani added, "Of course it's going to create more security concerns. Just wait and see how much New York City spends on this in order to protect him. This gives all the benefits to the terrorists and much less benefits to the public." The NY Post's cover story is about the security needed: "National Guardsmen will be placed at major transportation hubs while the NYPD will close off subway entrances near the federal courthouse and intensify bag searches throughout the system, the sources said. Marshals will be shipped in from out of town and snipers placed on roofs nearby the courthouse, where a death-penalty trial is likely."

The former mayor also appeared on This Week and CNN's State of the Union to hammer home his point—here's a clip from State of the Union:

Politico points out that previously Giuliani had supported using civilian courts to try terrorists—but let's face it, he said all that before 9/11. Mayor Bloomberg supports the decision for the trial to come to NYC, "It is fitting that 9/11 suspects face justice near the World Trade Center site where so many New Yorkers were murdered. We have hosted terrorism trials before, including the trial of Omar Abdel-Rahman, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing... I have great confidence that the NYPD, with federal authorities, will handle security expertly. The NYPD is the best police department in the world and it has experience dealing with high-profile terrorism suspects and any logistical issues that may come up during the trials."

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  • cxb

    The REAL issue here is Jen Chung and Gothamist misleading readers about this convicted criminal Giuliani.



    (Oh no? Dozens of federal judges and juries did NOT find him guilty of breaking multiple federal laws? Go back and look it up. He just claimed "Immunity" like Berlusconi.)



    Like Christine QUinn, Gothamist is selling us out more and more to be accepted by the establishment.



    Without Dishonest Media, there can be NO dishonest govt.

  • wow 14th street

    Rudy would have loved to be the grand inquisitor

    for the vatican during the purge of the jews,however

    it's to late Rudy,you are living in sin according to

    the church of Rome,marrying yo'first cousin was sort

    of not to good either and taking Holy Communion for

    tv sake when th Pope was hear even thoough that was wrong

    also and.......and.....and yo' kids hate you ....and...

  • WesleySnipesAlot

    Noun, verb, 9/11

  • TheCowman

    "National Guardsmen will be placed at major transportation hubs while the NYPD will close off subway entrances near the federal courthouse and intensify bag searches throughout the system, the sources said. Marshals will be shipped in from out of town and snipers placed on roofs nearby the courthouse, where a death-penalty trial is likely."



    I got a good idea...how about we DON'T do all this. If the media hadn't hyped this up and Giuliani hadn't shit his pants over this and made the rounds, we wouldn't need MORE security. Pretty soon you're going to be frisked leaving your apartment. It's getting ridiculous.



    Bye bye Freedom.

  • jjazznola

    If Rudy's against it, I'm all for it!

  • Qraymond

    Who is this guy again?

  • nivek

    It's about doing things by the book. What is the point of law if we're not going to follow it or execute it?

  • SP

    "It does demonstrate that we can give people a fair trial, that we are exactly what we say we are. We are a nation of law."



    -Giuliani in 2006 regarding the Moussaouï trail. He's a hypocrite and a liar with no moral or political principals whatsoever.

  • ANGRYGOD11

    Bad news: Giuliani's on CNN Sunday and gutless reporters won't nail him about Kerik.

    Good News: On Monday, Jon Stewart will do what the press poodles won't.

  • ANGRYGOD11

    What happened to CNN?

    I'm listening to Giuliani talking on CNN about 9/11 trials in NYC, and the reporter won't ask about Kerik's guilty plea. Is it not news and why does CNN choose to give up it's job to keep politicians accountable in exchange for access? Ask away and let him walk away like a failed beauty contestant. This man tried to have a corrupt cop as head of Homeland Security and that's not an issue when talking about security?

  • rosweed

    The man oozes oil. I am hoping for the day that the former comb over gets to spend some cell time with Kerik. Cockeyed Nathan would quickly move on to the next opportunity. Maybe she and Joe Lieberman could become the next "Independent" ticket that depends on so much oiliness, chutzpah and political favors.

  • jt10000

    What a two-faced hypocrite Giuliani is. Here is what he said about the having a civilian trial of Zacharias Moussaoui in 2006 IN NEW YORK CITY - a trial in which he testified during the sentencing phase:



    "At the same time, I was in awe of our system...It does demonstrate that we can give people a fair trial, that we are exactly what we say we are. We are a nation of law. . . . I think he's going to be a symbol of American justice."



    A Republican was in the White House at that time, so it was a demonstration of American justice to try a terrorist like that, but when Obama does it Giuliani goes off.



    IN 2006! That's post 9/11. What rank hypcrisy.

  • Sommelier

    Nicely done! Shows what a hipocrite Ghouliani really is.

  • Splicer

    Like everyone else, Giuliani is entitled to speak as stupidly as he wants.

  • dgeee

    He should be in a jail cell with his buddy Kerik.

  • mdow

    Dear Rudy Giuliani,



    Fuck you.



    Sincerely,



    New York

  • NannyState

    I agree. Giuliani's trial should be held at Gitmo.

  • Mr Mel

    Rudy has become an unreliable spokesman. He had his moment in the sun 8 years ago. His personal life is a train wreck and his cover up and association with Kerik puts him in the role of class clown. However he is not funny. The GOP is still trying to understand how we could have elected a black man as president and they will demean anything Obama says or does. Their first responsibility should be to the nation and not to the party.

  • santijose

    can we try Giuliani for lying the the police, fire dept. and the public about the dangers of working on the clean up, after 911- while we're @ it?

  • felixthecat2

    CNN blows for airing him. who cares what this non-expert Guiliani has to say? Damn, CNN, you couldn't find anyone else?

  • pinball29

    This scumbag will use any means possible to stay in the public eye, including his psycho attachment to 9/11 for political gain. If 9/11 never happened he would be some shit lobbyist for some mid-level corporation.

  • John_Matrix

    this dickwad needs to trademark 9/11. every other word he speaks is 9/11.



    speaking of forgetting history, under this asshole the police command center and big fuel tanks were moved to the world trade center after the 1993 bombing.



    republicans need to make up their minds, are terrorists criminals? are they soldiers in a war? are they 'enemy combatants?' they'll make up any shit to prop up their bankrupt ideology.

  • ANGRYGOD11

    The Republicans had years, both houses of Congress and the White House, but couldn't come up with an answer nor results. Check out YouTube videos of Condi Rice changing her answers (POWs? Enemy combatants? Criminals? Terrorists?) over the years.

    They had their chance and not only blew it, but contaminated the process so badly no future administration can straighten it out.

  • thefacts

    Why does anyone assume this guy is an expert on terrorism?

    He had not academic or military experience. He just strutted around for photo ops with a hnadkerchief in his hand and Bernie Kerik at his side.



    He's the moron who built the Command Center at 7WTC, instead of somewhere far away from an obvious target.



    He might have well have put a big bull's eye on the building.

  • Sommelier

    "He's the moron who built the Command Center at 7WTC, instead of somewhere far away from an obvious target. "



    He wanted the Command Center within walking distance of City Hall so he could go there to screw his (married) mistress, Judy Nathan. The place was built, supposedly, for the Mayor & his family to live in during an emergency, right? Yeah. That's why there's only one bedroom in the plans. Rudy spent millions of our dollars to build a love shack, on top of the money he spent giving Judy round-the-clock police protection and chauffer service to her, her friends and her family.



    Rudy kept his highest ranking chiefs away from their jobs that day... walking with him, looking for every camera & microphone they could find. Some hero!

  • Sommelier

    1. The wingnuts refused to label Timothy McVeigh & his pals "terrorists", but they desperately want to call this "terrorism" simply because they want to accuse Obama of having a terrorist attack on American soil during his Presidency.

    2. Hey, Rudy: just because you were the least effective Feferal Prosecutor in history does not mean that the system doesnt work: it just means that you were so eager to get your mug on the evening news that you sent cases to trial before the case had been built.

    3. Don't follow the laws? Why do the right wingers hate America? They really ARE a bunch of fascists, aren't they?

  • drewo

    "This is an act of war."



    No, it was a bunch of guys hijacking planes and crashing them into buildings. They represented no country, no army. They were trained here in the United States (not in any mythical "terrorist training camps" in the Middle East). It was a criminal act of mass murder - it was not an attack by a sovereign nation.

  • The Edge

    Uhhh there's a lot of ties that lead straight to the Saudis...

  • What. Really Giuliani? Really. Bring it on-- why shouldn't NYC try these guys? Other than that any jury you pick is going to be 99% of the way to "guilty" & "execute" off the bat...

  • Homer2323

    Good to see they are being treated the same as Martha Stewart. Hey Obama, when some crazy Muslim sets off a truck bomb on 42nd st during the trial, just pack up all your shit and leave the white house that day.

  • dr zippy

    Interesting. What if these guys were tried by a military tribunal and someone set off a truck bomb on 42nd St. during that trial? Who would you blame for that?

  • Homer2323

    Moron, a military tribunal wouldnt be in New York...and the only Muslims in Cuba, well we have them exactly where we want them. One doesnt have to blow themselves up outside Pearl St, anywhere in the city will have the same effect. Right now its even money.

  • dr zippy

    I was asking a hypothetical, you don't have to call me names. If someone in New York was upset that Mohammed was brought to trial, would it make a difference to them whether or not that trial took place in NYC or Gitmo? In other words, why do you think a trial in New York would be more dangerous than one at Gitmo?

  • jaycjay

    "One doesnt have to blow themselves up outside Pearl St, anywhere in the city will have the same effect."



    And there's some reason they couldn't do it if the trials were being held at Gitmo?

  • nicemarmot

    Keeping the terrorists in Gitmo has a magical protective effect over the whole country! The Bush administration knew it and that's why the refused to shut it down.

  • captainblackout

    You make no sense.

  • Sommelier

    OK... let's hear your plan, Bosco. Claiming that we are a nation of laws and then deciding that we won't follow our laws not good enough for you? Move to Iran: you'll love it there.

  • tingo

    Guiliani is irrelevant in this. Is he elected to office? If he wants to do something, tell him to run for some public office. Maybe DA again so he can be at the trial.

  • HOTCUP

    well i mean it's like a given that he's running for governor.. can't blame the guy for trying to get as much airtime as possible.



    he can basically say whatever the hell he wants and get on television. cuomo couldn't pay to be on tv.

  • HBHB

    I'm surprised, you would think this nutball would have the trial in his office.

  • nicemarmot

    Oh suck it Guiliani. You're just mad you're not the president.

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