You can count of Senator Schumer to be consistent on one matter…and that’s more pork for New York. On other topics? Not so much. Take for instance the case of the KSM trial set to begin in New York this year. Immediately after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Schumer stood firm saying (h/t: Hot Air):
There are also those prisoners of war who we have captured and will capture in Afghanistan and other countries who will receive a trial of some sort. It is clear we need to try those suspects in a forum that achieves two primary goals-two goals, I might add, that may not conflict. First, the Government must have the power to use even the most sensitive classified evidence against these suspects without compromising national security in any way, shape, or form. In addition, those who commit acts of war against the United States, particularly those who have no color of citizenship, don’t deserve the same panoply of due process rights that American citizens receive. Should Osama bin Laden be captured alive-and I imagine most Americans hope he won’t be captured alive. But if he is, it is ludicrous to suggest he should be tried in a Federal court on Center Street in Lower Manhattan.
Eight years later, Schumer is back to his pre-9/11 mentality backing the Obama Administration’s decision to try KSM in civilian court in New York–only 6 blocks from the site of the terrorist attacks. And Schumer’s going to get something out of it.
At first, estimates for the cost of securing the trial area stood at $75 million. Today, the New York Police Department’s revised estimates puts the security costs at a staggering $200 million. When news of this increase broke, Senator Schumer didn’t skip a beat, issuing a press release stating he expects the federal government to pay every penny of the security costs.
It’s nice to know Schumer’s consistent…at least on some matters.