Bob McDonnell, Republican gubernatorial candidate and former Attorney General of Virginia, announced today his support for federal legislation, introduced by Congressman Randy Forbes (R-4th), that would prohibit the use of federal funds to transfer terror suspects currently housed at Guantanamo Bay to any location or facility in the Commonwealth in Virginia. The legislation would also prohibit the use of federal funds to house these individuals in Virginia. McDonnell made this announcement after reports that the United States Department of Justice is considering transferring a number of terror suspects from the detention center at Guantanamo Bay to the Alexandria City Jail for trial at the City’s federal courthouse, or other Virginia venues.
The issue of where to house the roughly 240 terror suspects and enemy combatants, including several 9-11 conspirators, currently housed at Guantanamo Bay results from the Executive Order closing the facility issued by President Barack Obama upon taking office. A senior Justice Department official recently noted that one possible destination for some detainees is the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria, which has been the venue for previous high profile terrorism trials. The Courthouse is located in the city, only 190 feet from a new Westin Hotel, and close to apartment buildings, shops and restaurants. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, with 7000 employees, is only a block away.
Speaking about the possibility of Guantanamo Bay detainees being held in the middle of an historic and highly populated city in the Commonwealth McDonnell stated, “I strongly support efforts of the U.S. Government to bring terrorists to justice in accordance with our laws; however I oppose transferring any Guantanamo Bay detainees to Virginia. The terrorists and enemy combatants currently housed 90 miles from our shores at Guantanamo Bay are some of the most dangerous men in the world. Now the federal government is considering placing some of these individuals in the middle of a busy Virginia city, just feet away from hotels, apartments, restaurants and shops. We know from the 2006 death penalty trial of Zacarias Moussaoui in Alexandria that the cost and security necessary to house suspected terrorists in the city are enormous. The trial featured unprecedented security measures and a major ongoing disruption of life for the people in the city. Thankfully no terrorist incidents occurred as a result of that trial. That is a credit to the City of Alexandria, state and federal officials, and our men and women in public safety. I hope that less risky and burdensome trial venues will be considered.”
McDonnell continued, “I urge the United States Congress to pass legislation, introduced by Congressman Randy Forbes, which will prohibit the use of federal funds to bring any Guantanamo detainees to Alexandria, or anywhere else in the Commonwealth. The legislation would also prohibit the use of federal funds to house detainees in Virginia. The job of the Governor of Virginia is to keep the citizens of our state safe and secure. As Governor I will take all prudent actions to ensure that the terrorists and enemy combatants from Guantanamo Bay never step foot on Virginia soil.”
The City of Alexandria strongly objects to the possibility of Guantanamo Bay detainees being moved into the community with Mayor Bill Euille telling The Washington Post recently “We would be absolutely opposed to relocating Guantanamo prisoners to Alexandria….We would do everything in our power to lobby the president, the governor, the Congress and everyone else to stop it.” Alexandria Sheriff Dana A. Lawhorne said in the same article that such a move would be “…a very extremely high-risk situation for us.” Numerous business and community leaders have also expressed strong concerns about the cost and security problems of such an action.
H.R 1638, introduced by Congressman Randy Forbes (R-4th) and co-sponsored by Congressman Frank Wolf (R-10th), Congressman Eric Cantor (R-7th), and Congressman Rob Wittman (R-1st) would prohibit the use of federal funds to transfer Guantanamo Bay detainees to Virginia or to house detainees anywhere in the Commonwealth. In addition, Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-5th) will also be signing on as a co-sponsor of the legislation.
Congressman Frank Wolf recently wrote United States Attorney General Eric Holder vehemently opposing the possibility of Guantanamo detainees being moved to Virginia, and asking the Attorney General to respond to a lengthy list of questions regarding the security implications and considerations of such a decision.
[...] gubernatorial race. It seems some Democrats in the blogosphere are nervous that Republican Bob McDonnell is supporting the Keep Terrorists Out of America Act. (As word has buzzed around that Virginia might [...]