Breaking News: Obama backing away from a KSM Trial in New York?

John Hanlon | January 29, 2010 12:35 AM

Less than 48 hours after his State of the Union address (in which he talked about his administration's "focus on the terrorists who threaten our nation"), President Obama's administration seems to be backing down from its highly controversial plans to have the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in New York City.

The New York Times reports:

WASHINGTON — Facing mounting pressure from New York politicians concerned about costs and security, the Obama administration on Thursday began considering moving the trial of the chief organizer of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks out of Manhattan, administration officials said...

A decision to move the Sept. 11 trial from Manhattan would be a retreat by the administration from its calculated choice in November to bring the defendants to a courthouse just blocks from where the World Trade Center stood.

The dispute over a trial location, touched off when Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York complained of costs and disruption, threatened to reopen the divisive question of how those accused of plotting the murder of more than 3,000 Americans should be brought to justice.

It looks like this administration's rhetoric on the subject has clearly changed since Meredith Jessup blogged about out this issue early yesterday afternoon....