Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bombin

[TOJ]

Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Ahmed Ghailani was found not guilty on all but one charge Wednesday by a civilian jury in New York, in a case with ramifications for President Obama's policy toward Guantanamo and civilian trials for terror suspects.

Link

Wow, looks like the USA Justice Department just had their ass handed back to them.


CNN also has the story but it is in their blogs.

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[Deuce]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

Link

Wow, looks like the USA Justice Department just had their ass handed back to them.


CNN also has the story but it is in their blogs.

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I like how Fox describes it as "a serious blow to the US Government."

I'm not sure I agree. You and I don't really know all the details, certainly not like the lawyers, jury, and judge would. It's entirely possible that upon reviewing the evidence it really did seem more likely that the guy was just an errand boy, or that any hard evidence that may have linked him to more severe charges was based on faulty/contaminated evidence.

I don't have anywhere near the patience to go through what is probably hundreds of pages of transcripts, so I'm not going to be arrogant enough to assume I know better than the jury. He can get up to life for the one charge that did stick, so I expect that's what will happen. Life in prison, and his parole odds would be laughably small. Works for me.

 

[TOJ]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

They brought more than 280 charges against the guy and only got a conviction on one minor one. Pretty pathetic no matter how you try to spin it.

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[OscarB63]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

I don't see how convicting a guy on one count that will put him in prison for the rest of his life can be considered the US govt getting its ass handed to it. :shrug:


oooooh they cleared him of all counts but one....congratulations now get into your cell forever.

 

[OscarB63]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

They brought more than 280 charges against the guy and only got a conviction on one minor one. Pretty pathetic no matter how you try to spin it.

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life in prison...yeah minor.

 

[TOJ]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

Life in prison...yeah minor.

His guilt or innocence or how long he will be in prison is irrelevant. My point is that this is another indication of the incompetence of the Obama administration.

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[Conservative]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

His guilt or innocence or how long he will be in prison is irrelevant. My point is that this is another indication of the incompetence of the Obama administration.

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Incompetence and Naive is how I would describe this Administration on foreign affairs and the economy. Seems the results now back me on those claims.

 

[TOJ]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

Ghailani still could be sentenced to life in prison, and faces a minimum of 20 years, according to the Justice Department. But the verdict was a blow to administration officials who were quietly confident that Ghailani would be found guilty on all charges

Suppose Holder is in any trouble? He does not seem to been doing too well on several fronts.

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[Eighty Deuce]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

life in prison...yeah minor.

One out of 280. Either our Justice department is exceedingly incompetent, or ......... our Justice Department is incredibly incompetent.

But do you truly have confidence in using the civil system instead of the military tribunal process, because we were able to still get this assclown on one charge ? From where I sit, 1 is a lot closer to zero than it is to 280. You do understand that the rules of evidence in the tribunal process are far better tailored for both wartime conditions and for when folks are nabbed overseas where the process isn't quite as air-tight as it is here ?

This is a fail by our DoJ. What a shock !

 

[Albert Di Salvo]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

Eric Holder is a gambler. His bet hasn't paid off. Now his wings have been clipped.

Obama will never close Gitmo, and Holder will suffer more defeats in federal court.

 

[Deuce]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

They brought more than 280 charges against the guy and only got a conviction on one minor one. Pretty pathetic no matter how you try to spin it.

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224 of those charges were murder. Using the number of charges as a measure of success is really stupid.

And in what universe is 20 years to life a "minor charge?"

One out of 280. Either our Justice department is exceedingly incompetent, or ......... our Justice Department is incredibly incompetent.

But do you truly have confidence in using the civil system instead of the military tribunal process, because we were able to still get this assclown on one charge ? From where I sit, 1 is a lot closer to zero than it is to 280. You do understand that the rules of evidence in the tribunal process are far better tailored for both wartime conditions and for when folks are nabbed overseas where the process isn't quite as air-tight as it is here ?

This is a fail by our DoJ. What a shock !

"Better tailored" meaning "we don't really care as much about evidence or how its handled. Just roll with it."

You'll excuse me if I prefer the other method.

 

[stealthy]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

I don't see how convicting a guy on one count that will put him in prison for the rest of his life can be considered the US govt getting its ass handed to it. :shrug:


oooooh they cleared him of all counts but one....congratulations now get into your cell forever.

Based on what do you believe he'll not get off lightly?

 

[ptif219]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

life in prison...yeah minor.

Could be 20 years with good behavior he could get paroled much sooner

 

[stealthy]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

224 of those charges were murder. Using the number of charges as a measure of success is really stupid.

And in what universe is 20 years to life a "minor charge?"

That would be the Universe where mass murder is not a death sentence.

 

[ptif219]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

Eric Holder is a gambler. His bet hasn't paid off. Now his wings have been clipped.

Obama will never close Gitmo, and Holder will suffer more defeats in federal court.

Remember Holder and some of his people used to work for a firm that defended the detainees.

 

[stealthy]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

Remember Holder and some of his people used to work for a firm that defended the detainees.

I"m amazed that a post about prosecuting Bush gets @ 750 replies, but a mass murdering terrorist getting off lightly, not as much interest. See how they are?

 

[Albert Di Salvo]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

Remember Holder and some of his people used to work for a firm that defended the detainees.

Yeah, and they're discovering that leftist ideology has no answers for dealing effectively with jihadis who fall into American custody.

If Obama and Holder continue to attempt to use the federal criminal justice system with terrorists, the result will usually be unsatisfactory.

If Obama and Holder use the military tribunal system they will discourage and demoralize their leftist supporters.

That leaves only one course of action for Obama and Holder, i.e., say little to nothing and detain the terrorists indefinitely without trial.

Obama and Holder have painted themselves into a corner. No one will help them extract themselves from their predicament.

 

[Hatuey]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

This guy could have been sent to the electric chair and people here would still be complaining because they're not lynching him first.

 

[Jucon]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

I"m amazed that a post about prosecuting Bush gets @ 750 replies, but a mass murdering terrorist getting off lightly, not as much interest. See how they are?

Of course Bush is going to get more attention... with so many people hating his guts for the things he did while president. In part due to allowing the torture of detainees and starting a war that has left 100,000+ civilians killed.

Anyways, it's easy for people like us outside the court to look at this and say, "what the hell? Only one charge?", but I'm sure the jury did not take this case lightly. They knew who they were dealing with. I am honestly surprised that the jury was so unbiased in their judgment. I'd think many people would automatically assume someone coming from Gitmo is guilty.

But 20 years to life is no light sentence. It may be light considering what he was charged with, but he certainly didn't get off scott free.

I'd be interested in finding out more about the evidence against him.

 

[upsideguy]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

His guilt or innocence or how long he will be in prison is irrelevant. My point is that this is another indication of the incompetence of the Obama administration.

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I fail to understand how you can blame Obama here, unless you are an attorney and really know the case, which I doubt. In fact, if you want to blame a president, blame the previous guy for torturing the key witness, which got the witness excluded from testifying..... that all said, its pretty academic as enough charges stuck to lock the guy up for life.

 

[Albert Di Salvo]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

I fail to understand how you can blame Obama here, unless you are an attorney and really know the case, which I doubt. In fact, if you want to blame a president, blame the previous guy for torturing the key witness, which got the witness excluded from testifying..... that all said, its pretty academic as enough charges stuck to lock the guy up for life.

President Obama appointed Eric Holder as Attorney General. Eric Holder decided to employ a prosecutorial strategy which caused the US Govt. to lose the case. Thus, Obama is responsible for the actions of his appointee Eric Holder.

And yes the US Govt. lost the case. Any attorney will confirm the fact that the US Govt. was defeated by the terrorist's legal defense team. And I am familiar with the case.

Any person who contends that the US Govt. won this case because the defendant was convicted of conspiracy to damage govt. property is clearly not an attorney.

 

[Conservative]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

I fail to understand how you can blame Obama here, unless you are an attorney and really know the case, which I doubt. In fact, if you want to blame a president, blame the previous guy for torturing the key witness, which got the witness excluded from testifying..... that all said, its pretty academic as enough charges stuck to lock the guy up for life.

LOL, right, blame Bush for doing his job? Amazing how some people think or fail to think. Holder and Obama are two of the most incompetent individuals ever to hold office. They are naive on world affairs and don't have a clue as to what they are doing. They continue to treat this as a criminal action instead of an act of war. Radical Islamic terrorists don't believe they have broken any law. Congress made military tribunals available but Obama and Holder wanted to show these animals just how naive they really are. thanks Holder and Obama for making this country the laughing stock of the world. Hope you liberals are happy. What an embarrassment.

 

[TOJ]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

The first former Guantanamo Bay detainee to be tried in federal criminal court was found guilty on a single conspiracy charge Wednesday but cleared on 284 other counts. The outcome, a surprise, seriously undermines - and could doom - the Obama administration's plans to put other Guantanamo detainees on trial in U.S. civilian courts.

Even the liberal media thinks this will be a problem. Why did they bring all the murder charges if they could only get a conviction on the conspiracy charge. This certainly sounds like they don't have a clue about what they are doing.

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[cpwill]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

i think this ought to thoroughly demonstrate the foolishness of the idea that we should haul these guys in front of a civilian court with civilian rules of evidence. the damming evidence all got thrown out because it was connected to enhanced interrogation; and now we barely manage to keep a guy who had (at the time of capture) been involved in coordinating multiple mass-casualty high-visibility attacks, had bomb-building supplies in his possession and had near real-time intelligence of many of AQ's highest leadership?

what a mess.

 

[Albert Di Salvo]

Re: Ex-Gitmo Detainee Ahmed Ghailani Cleared of All but One Charge in U.S. Embassy Bo

Even the liberal media thinks this will be a problem. Why did they bring all the murder charges if they could only get a conviction on the conspiracy charge. This certainly sounds like they don't have a clue about what they are doing.

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Obama and Holder were keeping faith with their left wing base. Now their base sees what happens when ideology is allowed to triumph over prosecutorial pragmatism.