Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) has strong words for the Republicans opposing Attorney General Eric Holder’s plan to bring five 9/11 suspects to New York City to face trial.
“They see this as an opportunity to demagogue,” he said. “They will seize on any opportunity to do that, and that means they’ll even take a stand that’s un-American.”
“It’s un-American to hold anyone indefinitely without trial,” Moran added. “It’s against our principles as a nation.”
Moran, who represents the Congressional district closest to D.C., was among the only members of Congress to advocate President Obama’s plan to send prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to the U.S. so the military prison could be shut down. Obama first proposed the idea shortly after being elected and most in Congress rejected the plan, saying that bringing terror suspects to this country would endanger American lives.
Today, many politicians raised those same fears. Moran dismissed them.
“Right now, they’re sitting in Guantanamo gaining sympathy,” he said. “The sooner that we prosecute this guy, the sooner we can reduce the anti-American propaganda that surrounds his detention and inflames our enemies.”
“Until we do that, it only strengthens the hand of people who recruit new terrorists with the clame claim we aren’t true to our principles,” he added.