Human Events pulls some big news out of a heavily Democrat-leaning community board meeting in Lower Manhattan last night. An unannounced surprise guest, Democratic Speaker of the New York State Assembly Sheldon Silver, showed up and took a fervent stand against Eric Holder's decision to bring Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four 9/11 co-conspirators to trial at civilian court in New York City. Human Events' Mark Impomeni reports:
Outside the meeting room, Ms. Harley told HUMAN EVENTS what she thought should happen to Mohammad and his co-defendants. "I think he should be tried where he is," she said. "He's been there for the past eight years, at Guantanamo. Why can't they keep him there? Why does he have to come into an area that is so heavily populated with families?" Ms. Harley said that she supported President Obama during the campaign. Asked whether she expected this decision would come of Obama's campaign promise to close the detention center at Guantanamo, Ms. Harley said that she would have hoped that the president's advisers would have recommended not holding the trials in her neighborhood. Those thoughts were echoed by New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D), a surprise attendee at the meeting. Silver said that he was not satisfied that the federal government had considered the impact of the trials on the quality of life in the community. "We cannot be held hostage to these trials; citizens that cannot go into their houses and business that cannot do business because of this. It's unacceptable," Silver said.
Impomeni also notes that there were several Obama-voting Democrats in the crowd who were adamantly against the plan to try the terrorists at the scene of the crime. Silver represents a heavily-Democratic district in Manhattan and his stance is likely the result of growing outrage among his constituents as they learn more about the legal, political and economic consequences of Holder's ill-advised move. Silver's opposition to the administration is significant--a major political force in New York has responded to the increasing civic pressure against the Obama administration. Initially caught off-guard by Holder's announcement, Silver deferred to the administration, but a staffer recognized the potential for complications and hedged on the issue in a statement to the local Manhattan paper Downtown Express:
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Downtowner, also said he supported Obama's choice, though Judy Rapfogel, his chief of staff, said, "We couldn't describe it as a good idea." She said the speaker would work to protect the community from any adverse effects.
A few weeks later, following a large protest in the city's judicial sector Silver patiently remained on the sidelines:
U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler supports the trial venue, as does Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, State Sen. Daniel Squadron and Borough President Scott Stringer have not fought the location, though they say they want residents' concerns to be addressed.
Last night it appeared that he is ready to act on his residents' concerns. Perhaps he's following the lead of another high-profile New York Democrat to speak out against the Obama administration's New York terror trials, Gov. David Paterson. It would certainly make political sense--the much maligned governor's job approval is up 10 points in the month following Holder's announcement. Update: Ben Smith has a new statement from Silver, in which he says that "I support the Attorney General's decision," although he has "expressed ... serious concerns about the transportation and access issues that may arise from a lengthy trial and the resulting impacts on residents and small businesses in the area."