New York deserves the money since it’s not their choice to host them here, but do they really expect the trials to last more than a year? How much are the legal fees going to be? Is this listed as a stimulus (ie, shovel ready) project for NY?
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Wednesday said the costs of hosting the federal trials of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other suspected September 11 plotters would top $200 million annually and formally requested that Washington cover the costs.
“New York’s financial resources are in short supply, and we have been forced to reduce our Police Department’s headcount,” Bloomberg wrote in a letter to White House Budget Director Peter Orszag dated January 5 and released to media on Wednesday.
“Securing the trial will require us to pull existing personnel from crime prevention efforts around the city and require significant overtime expenses,” the mayor wrote.
“As 9/11 was an attack on the entire nation, we need the federal government to shoulder the significant costs we will incur and ease this burden.”
Bloomberg estimated the cost for security would be $216 million for the first year and $206 million annually thereafter. Noting the city was not seeking a “blank check,” he said policing the 2004 Republican Convention cost New York $50 million. He said that event lasted one week while the trials could last years.
Keep up the good work Obama! Your are bankrupting, corrupting, and destroying America bit by bit everyday. And the leftists on this blog who refuse to post Obama’s lies are helping. Dvorak should be ashamed.
Ahh, there IS money to be made in terrorism!
So what exactly do the city police need to do to hold onto these terrorists? They aren’t going anywhere. It won’t cost millions to put these nut jobs in a cell.
The OJ Simpson trial took 9 months, why couldn’t this one take years? Jury selection alone could take that long to find people that aren’t completely biased against (or for) them.
Unless they take the “Jury of his peers” literally and ship in 12 from gitmo…
Of course they have to spend this extraordinary amount of money. Terrorists, after all, are not like other mortals. They have powers. Powers to break shackles with their mind and hypnotize guards with their nostrils. Glenn Beck has all the deets.
Ah, the shot that gave us this classic shot of Rosie.
It’s theater, plain and simple. Don’t take anymore prisoners, and have these disappear. No declaration of war has been made, the Geneva convention doesn’t apply to criminals. The shit is hitting the fan in the Gulf, theres no one you can trust. I’m sure every government and military has been compromised. The Saudi Princes are going to waffle to keep power. India is locked and loaded if radicals seize power in Pakistan. This is one big fucked up mess, and the flights into Dover will multiple quickly. Washington can’t except that fact they can’t win this. A dangerous weapon in WWII was the kamikaze. Men not afraid of death flying guided missiles. They too were fanatics believing in glory after death serving their Emperor. These trials will fan the flames, if that’s even possible.
Sounds like its at least $50 mil just for the waaaahhmbulance.
How long until justice is “too expensive” for every day folks?
It’s a federal court, right? So why should the city (or state) have to pay anything? Use FBI to provide security for the courthouse.
It’s important that we spend as much as it takes, regardless of the opportunity costs, to host these trials to prove to the world and ourselves that, rich elite or desperately poor, we are not Nazi-loving savages. Or something like that.
RBG
Geez, what’s Homeland Security for anyway? Let them do it and leave it at that.
Hell, send the crotchbomber over to Rikers unguarded. Who cares? (Like he’ll last more than a day.)
I’m all for outsourcing these trials to India.
The State of New York, The City of New York, George W. Bush and Obama should all be on trial for blowing through several trillions of dollars AND
THEY STILL HAVEN’T REBUILT THE TRADE CENTERS!
The Trade Centers would cost, um .. $20 billion maybe? Or $50 billion?
And we waste incredibucks and close down airports because some guy and NJ crossed a rope to give a woman a kiss.
If countries like Ethipia, Somalia and Afghanistan are “failed nations” in the sense there is no effective government …
What classification is our government?
Our government wastes enormous resources achieving no objectives!
And it will go bankrupt in a few years — and SHOULD go bankrupt — due to this enormously massive waste.
Btw, a bullet costs 10 cents. Just have a prison guard shoot the fucker and save $200 million dollars.
Thanks in advance!
The price is about right.
I would describe the need to spend all that money as stupidity in action and while I once thought George Bush Jr. was a 4th place candidate for one of the worst Presidents we’ve ever had along with Grant, Johnson, and Carter I now put Bush Jr. slightly behind Obama and in 5th place which is really saying something since Obama managed to catch up with Bush Jr. in just one year.
I would have thought it would have taken Obama a heck of lot longer for than that to make my list. The man has talent. I’m now confident he can beat out Carter. He still has plenty of time to beat out Grant and Johnson. It’s still early days. He isn’t half way through his first term yet.
I’ve never been sure how to rate Andrew Jackson. In some ways he belongs on the list but then he has some real accomplishments. Nixon is more of the same. He brought his administration down due to Watergate but he has some real accomplishments.
For those that fail to grasp the obvious NY, NY is now the #1 target on planet earth again for a bombing or a rescue attempt using people on the outside. Please remember there was a bombing at the world trade center before the planes brought them down.
The White House was completely out of its alleged mind to make the city into this sort of target. If this results in even one New Yorker being killed I think the Attorney General of the United States should be given a fair trail and then a firing squad.
#6-I didn’t know Rosie could look so good!
Why does the United States hold expensive trials for obviously guilty people to blow billions of tax payer dollars just to have a media “spectacle” and farce of some fat slob shirtless terrorist?
His trial would cost a billion dollars in security and other bullshittery and for what purpose?
It’s this kind of massive waste that is what is destroying this country.
Pave some fucking roads with the $1 billion. Or pay off some government debt. Or use it to partially fund something. Or give it back to the taxpayers.
Instead, these assholes claiming to be part of a government that somehow represents the people plan to toss a $1 billion down a hole to put on a fucking show.
It’s about fucking time for some accountability, instead of repeatly flushing money down the toilet.
#16 Dowell … love your post. It’s hilarious.
Re: Richard #13… “I’m all for outsourcing these trials to India.”
LOL! Trial by phone.
Better still outsource them to China. They hold their trials to a higher standard… 24th floor balcony if I recall.
How to get the money:
Have a lottery to grant button pressing rights for the execution!
Now is not the time to get cheap. It seems republicans don’t mind blowing billions on war, but get stingy when its time for cleanup.
And once again the right wing nuts, neo-cons, tea baggers, LIEBERTARIANS, and Republicans show why they hate America. It must be that damned Constitution.
I take it there is no spending limit on the Constitution. Follow the money into Democrat pockets.
RBG
This Terrorism bullcrap has gone too far, why is there so much evidence that is was an inside job?
sure there are real terrorists, but this was surely just cashing in on someone else marketing to put it bluntly.
Four months after the disclosure project was presented at the washing press club. 2001 – they needed a detractor, a big one, they got one.
Distraction of the year, distraction of the decade, every time people get serious about disclosing ufo and alternate energy info and other “conspiracy theories”, some shadow govt pricks create some disaster to take our minds off what really matters.
lets get these bastard puppet masters once and for all, anyone know where they live?
im sure there are many pissed off real terrorists who would love to get them with a crotch bomb, not just for blaming them but also doing their job for them.
T says “we cant have heathens organising our wars, who will get the virgins?”
Maybe we just put all the real terrorists and these shadow govt jizzrags in gitmo together and broadcast them playing nicely..
we are old enough to know the truth, sure some literalistics may crap their pants but we can then move forward and not stagnate like we currently are.
i’m sure religion can co-exist with the truth, there has to be some form of moral guidance, sure as hell not coming from the govt. personal;y i believe it should come from within. not out of fear nor expectations of reward.
people say the govt couldn’t possibly be behind this, well what about Watergate, JFK, mariln, Tesla inventions being shut down (although some believe he did this himself to prevent it getting into the wrong hands) etc and all other things past, politicians and business are human and subject to greed and powermongering, nothing new there.
Most of the govt employees don’t even know they have a hand up their ass guiding their every move.
They are dangerous because they are partially invisible. uncover these bastards and make them accountable.
think more.
“Please do not disturb – People sleeping”
#28, ‘dro,
What? You won’t lend him one of your’s?
#28: i think all of his hat’s have been made by “them”.
(but they are real shiny ~ so that’s good right?)
you gotta produce your own foil these days!