We are disturbed by the Administration’s decision to bring Sulaiman Abu Ghaith—a foreign member of al Qaeda charged with conspiring to kill Americans – to New York for trial in federal court. The Obama Administration’s lack of a war-time detention policy for foreign members of al Qaeda, as well as its refusal to detain and interrogate these individuals at Guantanamo, makes our nation less safe.A statement from Sens. McCain, Graham and Ayotte • Denouncing the Obama administration’s decision to try Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a former spokesperson for al Qaeda, and son-in-law of the deceased Osama bin Laden, in a New York civilian court. The trio of Senators (who seem to be something of a clique since Ayotte’s election in 2010 — all three also teamed to oppose Susan Rice’s possible Secretary of State nomination) urge instead stashing him in Guantanamo, where the customary rules and rights of trial would not apply. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said much the same: “At Guantanamo, he could be held as a detainee and fulsomely and continuously interrogated without having to overcome the objections of his civilian lawyers.” Which obviously sounds like a sweet deal, if you’re into that sort of thing. It will be interesting to see if the administration stands resolute on this issue — they once promised a New York City civilian trial for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, but were stymied by restrictions on transferring detainees out of Guantanamo, engineered by the congressional GOP and codified by the President’s signing of the 2011 NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act). source
PFC Manning has offered to plead guilty to various offenses through a process known as “pleading by exceptions and substitutions.” To clarify, PFC Manning is not pleading guilty to the specifications as charged by the Government. Rather, PFC Manning is attempting to accept responsibility for offenses that are encapsulated within, or are a subset of, the charged offenses. The Court will consider whether this is a permissible plea.
PFC Manning is not submitting a plea as part of an agreement or deal with the Government. Further, the Government does not need to agree to PFC Manning’s plea; the Court simply has to determine that the plea is legally permissible. If the Court allows PFC Manning to plead guilty by exceptions and substitutions, the Government may still elect to prove up the charged offenses. Pleading by exceptions and substitutions, in other words, does not change the offenses with which PFC Manning has been charged and for which he is scheduled to stand trial.
PFC Manning has also provided notice of his forum selection. He has elected to be tried by Military Judge alone.
The Guardian simplifies the point: “By taking this legal route, Manning is not pleading guilty to any of the 22 charges brought against him, and nor is he making a plea bargain. He is asking the court to rule on whether his plea accepting limited responsibility is admissible in the case.”
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