Rivkin urges Obama to stop waffling on terrorism trials

Appearing on FOX News, former Justice Department official maintains call for stricter terrorist treatment

Published on February 15, 2010 by Brent Baldwin (OfficialWire) WASHINGTON, D.C.

Former Justice Department official David Rivkin continued to push the Obama administration this week for a more productive effort toward the prosecution of suspected terrorists, specifically Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

Rivkin appeared on the FOX News program America Live with Megyn Kelly on Feb. 12 and said while the president’s recent decision to become more involved with high profile terrorist trials was welcome news, the effort needed to go much further. 

“I hope the President’s personal involvement will be substantive—not just political—and will cause the administration to reverse its original foolhardy decision to treat Khalid Sheikh Mohammed as a garden variety criminal, subject to trial in a civilian court,” Rivkin said.

As co-chair for the Center for Law & Counterterrorism, Rivkin has long been a proponent of holding suspected terrorists as “enemy combatants” to allow officials as much time as necessary for interrogation purposes. The Obama administration announced the formation of a High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group within the FBI last August, but it has only recently began operations.

"Having the President become personally involved in decisions on how to prosecute Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other senior Al Qaeda members—through Gitmo-based military commissions or U.S.-based civilian courts—is long overdue,” Rivkin said. 

About David Rivkin
David Rivkin is an attorney in private practice and partner at Baker & Hostetler in Washington, D.C., who has had a lengthy career distinguished by service in the White House during two presidents’ terms, in the U.S. Department of Justice and in the U.S. Department of Energy. He is a well-known writer and media commentator on matters of constitutional and international law, as well as foreign and defense policy. He is a visiting fellow at the Nixon Center, contributing editor at the National Review, and a member of the Advisory Council at National Interest magazine. He currently serves as co-chairman of the Center for Law and Counterterrorism at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He also represents foreign governments and corporate entities on legal, political, defense, economy and public relations matters.

For more information, visit www.davidrivkin.com or contact:
David B. Rivkin, Jr.
drivkin@bakerlaw.com
202.861.1731
Suite 1100
1050 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036-5304