Holder blames politicization for keeping KSM out of civilian courtroom

Had the Obama administration not stopped the military commissions that Congress approved three times over, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would already have had his case adjudicated.  Instead, Barack Obama stopped the commissions, which led KSM to withdraw his guilty plea in order to take his show into a federal courtroom.  Now, Holder tells CBS that the only reason KSM hasn’t faced justice is because of politics:

In an exclusive interview with CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Attorney General Eric Holder said that political posturing has delayed some of the administration’s top priorities — bringing self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to trial and closing the prison and Guantanamo Bay.

Holder said the administration will make a decision as to where [the KSM] trial will occur “as soon as we can.”

“But we are bound and determined to hold Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and those who worked with him… responsible for happened on September 11,” he told Schieffer during the interview, which took place at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colo.

Holder wants to try Mohammed in civilian court, but some otherssay the trial should take place in the military tribunal system. The Obama administration is still in the process of determining what course of action to take, but Holder expressed frustration over the debate.

“One of the things I think that is particularly bothersome to me is that this really has become something that has become political,” Holder told Schieffer. “And politicization of this issue, when we’re dealing with ultimate national security issues, is something that disturbs me a great deal.”

Now it disturbs him?  This would have been wrapped up more than 18 months ago if Obama and Holder had stuck with the system that Congress designed — three different times.  Instead, Obama wanted to score political points at the expense of his predecessor and canceled the trial — even though the White House later conceded that they would have to use the military commission system for other Gitmo detainees.

The only people who politicized this process are those in the Obama administration who insisted on delaying KSM’s commission for their own political goals.  I’m not sure whether this is more chutzpah than projection, but it’s certainly both.