The White House on Sunday slapped down ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani and other critics of its decision to try the 9/11 plotters in New York City.White House adviser David Axelrod took to the Sunday morning airwaves to accuse Giuliani and other Republicans of two-faced politics.
"When the 20th 9/11 bomber [Zacarias Moussaoui] was tried in Virginia, in a civilian court, and convicted, Mayor Giuliani testified in that case and he heralded the outcome," Axelrod said on CNN.
Axelrod's counter-punch came after Giuliani appeared on Fox, CNN and ABC bashing the plan to make 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four of his henchmen face justice just blocks from the World Trade Center they're accused of demolishing.
Giuliani said moving the case to a Manhattan federal court "seems to be an overconcern with the rights of terrorists and a lack of concern for the rights of the public."
He said Mohammed and his co-conspirators should stay in Guantanamo Bay and face a military tribunal for war crimes.
"What the Obama administration is telling us loud and clear is that both in substance and reality the war on terror from their point of view is over," Giuliani said.
He contends it was a mistake to try the 1993 World Trade Center bombers in New York even though at the time he supported it.
"We're going to go back to the pre-9/11 approach that we had in 1993, trying it as a civilian matter, which turned out to be a terrible mistake," Giuliani said. "They are repeating the mistake of history."
Axelrod countered that Giuliani is trying to rewrite history.
"So he may have changed his view, but we haven't changed ours," Axelrod bristled.
After Moussaoui was convicted in 2006, but spared the death penalty by a federal jury, Giuliani said he was "in awe of our system."
"It does demonstrate that we can give people a fair trial, that we are exactly what we say we are. We are a nation of law. . . .I think [Moussaoui's] going to be a symbol of American justice."
In his dramatic announcement Friday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's said he will seek the death penalty for Al Qaeda thugs, saying the pursuit of justice had been delayed too long.
Asked about the decision, Secretary of State Clinton told NBC, "I'm not going to second guess any decision that the attorney general made."
Clinton said she supports seeking death for the plotters whose evil cost 2,973 lives.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) agreed that executing the defendants, who all asked for executions at Gitmo in order to be "martyrs," will "speak louder than anything else" and won't put the city always in Al Qaeda's sights at greater risk.
"The best way to serve justice is give him the ultimate penalty he deserves," Schumer said of Mohammed.