Prosecutors Compete for 9/11 Case

Federal prosecutors in New York and Virginia are fighting for the chance to put Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four of his co-conspirators on trial, the Washington Post reports. Justice Department sources say offices in Alexandria and Manhattan have been lobbying hard to prosecute the self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind, both stressing their experience in trying high-profile terror cases.

Files on around 30 Guantanamo Bay detainees have been sent to US attorney's offices in Alexandria, New York, and Washington, DC, the sources say, and prosecutors have been asked to determine which suspects can be tried in federal court. Officials expect each district to be given its share of the high-profile cases. "There's competition on all of these guys, and that's to be expected," a Justice Department official says. "These are big cases."
(More 9/11 attacks stories.)