WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder says Osama bin Laden will never face trial in the United States because he will not be captured alive.
Holder sternly rejected criticism from Republican lawmakers on a House Appropriations subcommittee, who contend it is too dangerous to put terror suspects on trial in federal civilian courts.
Texas Republican Rep. John Culberson said someone like bin Laden should not get the rights of a criminal defendant in American courts.
The attorney general fired back that bin Laden will never appear in a U.S. court because he will not be taken alive. Holder did not say whether he meant the al-Qaida leader would fight to the death and be killed by U.S. and allied forces, or kill himself if surrounded.