Biden Questions Bloomberg's Math On 9/11 Terror Trials On "Face The Nation"

Biden Questions Bloomberg's Math On 9/11 Terror Trials

Vice-President Joe Biden, who spent the weekend sparring with his predecessor Dick Cheney on the network news shows, also took on Mayor Bloomberg.

Discussing the pushback against holding the trials for alleged 9/11 plotter Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other Guantanamo detainees on Face the Nation, Biden questioned the mayor's claim that security costs would be hundreds of millions of dollars.

"The mayor came along and said the cost for providing security to hold this trial is X hundreds of millions of dollars, which I think is much more than would be needed," Biden said.

Biden continued, calling out local New York politicians from both sides of the aisle.

"The elected officials, Democrat and Republican, said, 'We don't want this tried here in New York,'" said Biden. "That creates a political dimension to this."

The rejection of the trials in New York has been a rare uniting issue for Democrats and Republicans, with anyone from Sen. Chuck Schumer (D) to Rep. Peter King (R) coming out against them.

The state senate also voted to impose a ban on holding the trials in New York.

The Obama administration has repeatedly pushed to hold the trials in civilian courts in New York but has lately left the door open to the possibility of moving them to federal courts.

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