AG Holder defends use of criminal justice system amid development in Times Square terror case

AG: criminal justice system proving its strength

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder is telling Congress that the criminal justice system has proven its strength in the fight against terrorism.

In remarks prepared for delivery Thursday to a House oversight hearing, the attorney general defends the use of the civilian system of justice to help persuade terrorist suspects to provide useful information as in the current case of defendant Faisal Shahzad for the attempted Times Square bombing.

Holder says that guilty pleas have yielded long prison sentences and gained valuable intelligence for use against al-Qaida and other terrorist groups.

The attorney general’s remarks were in preparation for his appearance before the House Judiciary Committee.

“As a counterterrorism tool, the criminal justice system has proven its great strength,” Holder’s remarks stated. He said that last year, more defendants were charged with terrorism violations in federal court than in any year since 2001.

Holder has said he wants to the 9/11 defendants to be tried in civilian courts in New York, a position that has drawn fierce criticism from leading Republicans.

Former President George W. Bush’s last attorney general, Michael Mukasey, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, are among those who have said the case against the 9/11 defendants should be tried by military tribunal rather than in civilian criminal justice system.