Legal News

Would Eric Holder Be Hurt By a KSM Flip-Flop?

By Ashby Jones

So, after all is said and done, it looks like the trial for alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed probably won’t take place in lower Manhattan (though we seem to be pretty far away from finding out exactly where it will happen).

So what does it mean for Attorney General Eric Holder? According to this story by Evan Perez Wednesday in the WSJ, a reversal of policy on KSM “threatens to undercut” Holder, who could suffer an ensuing credibility loss.

Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, in an interview drew comparisons to the tenure of Alberto Gonzales as attorney general in the Bush administration, when critics accused the Justice Department of being influenced by partisan politics.

“Any reversal would clearly indicate that the decisions of the Justice Department are much more politicized than we were led to believe,” Romero told Perez. “This Justice Department needs to show more incontrovertibly that it stands on its own two feet.”

The problems seem to have been launched early on. According to the story, Holder was unaware that White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel opposed the idea, but Emanuel, these people said, felt constrained about discussing the issue with Holder.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on March 10, 2010 (boomark / email).