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| Administration Officials, Including Sessions, Tour Guantánamo | Administration Officials, Including Sessions, Tour Guantánamo |
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| WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his deputy, Rod J. Rosenstein, visited the American wartime prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Friday in a gesture of support for continuing to detain terrorism suspects without trial there and to prosecute some before a military commission. | WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his deputy, Rod J. Rosenstein, visited the American wartime prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Friday in a gesture of support for continuing to detain terrorism suspects without trial there and to prosecute some before a military commission. |
| In a statement, Ian Prior, a spokesman for the Justice Department, said the two officials would be “meeting with the people on the ground who are leading our governmentwide efforts” at the prison. He said it was important for Justice Department officials “to have an up-to-date understanding of current operations” there. | In a statement, Ian Prior, a spokesman for the Justice Department, said the two officials would be “meeting with the people on the ground who are leading our governmentwide efforts” at the prison. He said it was important for Justice Department officials “to have an up-to-date understanding of current operations” there. |
| “Keeping this country safe from terrorists is the highest priority of the Trump administration,” Mr. Prior said. “Recent attacks in Europe and elsewhere confirm that the threat to our nation is immediate and real, and it remains essential that we use every lawful tool available to prevent as many attacks as possible.” | “Keeping this country safe from terrorists is the highest priority of the Trump administration,” Mr. Prior said. “Recent attacks in Europe and elsewhere confirm that the threat to our nation is immediate and real, and it remains essential that we use every lawful tool available to prevent as many attacks as possible.” |
| Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, and Thomas Bossert, the White House Homeland Security and counterterrorism adviser, also went on the brief trip, spokesmen for the two officials later said. | Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, and Thomas Bossert, the White House Homeland Security and counterterrorism adviser, also went on the brief trip, spokesmen for the two officials later said. |
| Mr. Sessions has been an outspoken supporter of continuing to use the Guantánamo prison and military commissions, dating back to his years as a senator from Alabama. This year, soon after becoming attorney general, he called the prison “a very fine place” to hold, interrogate and prosecute terrorism suspects. | Mr. Sessions has been an outspoken supporter of continuing to use the Guantánamo prison and military commissions, dating back to his years as a senator from Alabama. This year, soon after becoming attorney general, he called the prison “a very fine place” to hold, interrogate and prosecute terrorism suspects. |
| Still, the Trump administration has yet to bring any newly captured detainees to the prison. And while the administration circulated drafts of an executive order in January and February that would explicitly affirm that the prison would stay open and should be used to hold future terrorism suspects, President Trump has yet to sign any such order. | Still, the Trump administration has yet to bring any newly captured detainees to the prison. And while the administration circulated drafts of an executive order in January and February that would explicitly affirm that the prison would stay open and should be used to hold future terrorism suspects, President Trump has yet to sign any such order. |
| During his confirmation to be deputy attorney general, Mr. Rosenstein — who was a United States attorney in Maryland under both the Bush and Obama administrations — told Congress that he expected terrorism cases to continue to be prosecuted in civilian trials, also known as Article III courts. | During his confirmation to be deputy attorney general, Mr. Rosenstein — who was a United States attorney in Maryland under both the Bush and Obama administrations — told Congress that he expected terrorism cases to continue to be prosecuted in civilian trials, also known as Article III courts. |
| “Numerous terrorism-related cases have progressed through Article III courts, and I expect that to continue,” Mr. Rosenstein wrote in answer to a question posed by a Democratic senator. “Determining the appropriate strategy in a particular national security investigation is a fact-based inquiry based on the individual circumstances.” | “Numerous terrorism-related cases have progressed through Article III courts, and I expect that to continue,” Mr. Rosenstein wrote in answer to a question posed by a Democratic senator. “Determining the appropriate strategy in a particular national security investigation is a fact-based inquiry based on the individual circumstances.” |
| For months, law enforcement officials have wanted to bring a Qaeda suspect known as Abu Khaybar, who is being held in Yemen, to the Eastern District of New York to face charges there before a civilian court. But it is not clear whether the Trump administration has made a decision about whether to take custody of him and, if so, what to do with him. | For months, law enforcement officials have wanted to bring a Qaeda suspect known as Abu Khaybar, who is being held in Yemen, to the Eastern District of New York to face charges there before a civilian court. But it is not clear whether the Trump administration has made a decision about whether to take custody of him and, if so, what to do with him. |
| F.B.I. agents are also hoping to bring back and try a pair of American terrorism suspects being held in Turkey, according to former and current United States officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Under current law, the Guantánamo military tribunals may not be used to prosecute American citizens, although Mr. Trump said during the campaign that he was “fine” with expanding their use to encompass citizens. | F.B.I. agents are also hoping to bring back and try a pair of American terrorism suspects being held in Turkey, according to former and current United States officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Under current law, the Guantánamo military tribunals may not be used to prosecute American citizens, although Mr. Trump said during the campaign that he was “fine” with expanding their use to encompass citizens. |
| President George W. Bush opened the prison in January 2002 as a place to bring captives from the fighting in Afghanistan in the months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and nearly 800 prisoners were eventually brought there. After the prison’s image became toxic around the world and the Supreme Court ruled that federal civilian courts had jurisdiction to review habeas corpus lawsuits by detainees there, the Bush administration began trying to close it, reducing its population to 242 men by the time Mr. Bush left office. | President George W. Bush opened the prison in January 2002 as a place to bring captives from the fighting in Afghanistan in the months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and nearly 800 prisoners were eventually brought there. After the prison’s image became toxic around the world and the Supreme Court ruled that federal civilian courts had jurisdiction to review habeas corpus lawsuits by detainees there, the Bush administration began trying to close it, reducing its population to 242 men by the time Mr. Bush left office. |
| President Barack Obama continued that policy, ordering the prison closed within a year as one of his first acts upon taking office in 2009. But, as political winds shifted, that proved easier said than done, and he failed to complete the task. Still, by the time he left office in January, the detainee population had been reduced to 41 men. | President Barack Obama continued that policy, ordering the prison closed within a year as one of his first acts upon taking office in 2009. But, as political winds shifted, that proved easier said than done, and he failed to complete the task. Still, by the time he left office in January, the detainee population had been reduced to 41 men. |
| By contrast, Mr. Trump vowed during the campaign to keep the prison open and fill it again, an aspiration that was echoed in the early draft executive orders. Some legal specialists have warned that it is not clear that the government’s wartime authority to fight the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks — that is, Al Qaeda — covers the Islamic State, and so bringing in a detainee tied to that group could create legal risks. | By contrast, Mr. Trump vowed during the campaign to keep the prison open and fill it again, an aspiration that was echoed in the early draft executive orders. Some legal specialists have warned that it is not clear that the government’s wartime authority to fight the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks — that is, Al Qaeda — covers the Islamic State, and so bringing in a detainee tied to that group could create legal risks. |
| In April, American military officials had hoped to capture a top Islamic State terrorist in Syria. But the man, Abdurakhmon Uzbeki, was killed in a firefight with American commandos. Officials said that federal prosecutors had been preparing civilian criminal charges against him for possible prosecution in the United States. | In April, American military officials had hoped to capture a top Islamic State terrorist in Syria. But the man, Abdurakhmon Uzbeki, was killed in a firefight with American commandos. Officials said that federal prosecutors had been preparing civilian criminal charges against him for possible prosecution in the United States. |
| This year, Mr. Sessions expressed frustration at the pace of military commissions. Two major death-penalty cases — one over the 2000 bombing of the naval destroyer Cole, and one against Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four other detainees accused of playing a role in the Sept. 11 attacks — have languished in pretrial hearings for years. Mr. Sessions said then that it was time to figure out how use the system in an effective way. | This year, Mr. Sessions expressed frustration at the pace of military commissions. Two major death-penalty cases — one over the 2000 bombing of the naval destroyer Cole, and one against Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four other detainees accused of playing a role in the Sept. 11 attacks — have languished in pretrial hearings for years. Mr. Sessions said then that it was time to figure out how use the system in an effective way. |
| Last month, military commission prosecutors charged a longtime detainee best known as Hambali with two deadly bombings in Indonesia in 2002 and 2003, setting in motion what could be the first new tribunal case of the Trump era. The chief defense counsel said that prosecutors had informed him that they would not seek the death penalty if the so-called convening authority, which oversees the system, permitted the case to proceed. | |
| The 41 detainees at Guantánamo include five who are on a list of those recommended for transfer to stable countries, and about two dozen who are recommended for continued indefinite wartime detention without trial. | The 41 detainees at Guantánamo include five who are on a list of those recommended for transfer to stable countries, and about two dozen who are recommended for continued indefinite wartime detention without trial. |
| Although the Trump administration has continued to operate parole-like boards that periodically review the status of indefinite detainees, it has given no sign that it intends to transfer anybody. The State Department office that negotiates transfers — and monitors former detainees who were previously resettled or repatriated — now has just one full-time official, down from half a dozen during the Obama administration. | Although the Trump administration has continued to operate parole-like boards that periodically review the status of indefinite detainees, it has given no sign that it intends to transfer anybody. The State Department office that negotiates transfers — and monitors former detainees who were previously resettled or repatriated — now has just one full-time official, down from half a dozen during the Obama administration. |