Bowing to intense and deepening bipartisan opposition to conducting the criminal trials for the 9/11 hijackers in the heart of New York City, the Obama White House has begun discussing alternate locations with the Justice Department, senior officials told Fox late Thursday.
The White House denies ordering Justice to find a new location for the trials, which are sure to attract massive publicity and require intense security preparations wherever they are held.
But senior administration officials confirmed alternate trial locations are being sought because Congress is almost sure to deny Obama the funds necessary to conduct the trials, as originally planned, in the federal courthouse mere blocks away from the Twin Towers - the epicenter of the attacks that took the lives of nearly 3,000 civilians on September 11, 2001.
"The discussions are under way in case the option of holding the trials in New York City is foreclosed upon at either the state or the federal level," an Obama administration official said.
The discussions on alternate trial locations signal the New York City trial plan is all but dead.
Congressional and Democratic sources said Fox White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has told lawmakers the administration will stand down if the House and Senate, as appears likely, deny funds for 9/11 trials in the Big Apple.
Rep. Peter King of New York, ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, has introduced legislation to block funds for a 9/11 trial in New York City.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg opposes the trials of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and other defendants in his city, citing concerns about security and cost.
More than half a dozen senators have forged a bipartisan coalition against funding 9/11 trials in Gotham.
The White House has concluded political opposition will only intensify and the only way to mitigate the damage is to acknowledge discussions on alternate trial sites.
No timetable has been set for resolving the impasse. Military charges against Mohammed and his co-defendants have been dropped.
Criminal charges are pending resolution of a final trial site
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