White House Considers Moving 9/11 Trial

Updated at 11:36 p.m. ET

Facing growing opposition to its plans to hold the Sept. 11 terrorist trial in New York City, the Obama administration is considering different locations.

An administration official told CBS Radio News White House correspondent Mark Knoller that "conversations have occurred within the administration to discuss contingency options" for the trial of professed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four alleged accomplices in case Congress or local officials prevent the trial from being held in Manhattan.

On Friday night, an Obama administration official told major publications that the trial wouldn't be held in New York City.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced last year that the trial would be held in Manhattan federal court, generating stiff opposition in Congress and in New York.

Word that the administration is considering a backup plan for its most high-profile terrorism trial comes after President Barack Obama and Holder have spent weeks on the defensive about their handling of terrorism threats.

The administration has admitted intelligence missteps leading up to the failed Christmas bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner, and the case re-ignited a debate in Congress about whether such terror suspects should face civilian or military justice.

Moving the trial would be a major political setback for the administration's oft-stated aims in the fight against terrorism.

The officials did not say where else the trial might be held, but others have suggested an unpopulated island near Manhattan, or nearby military installations.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who originally supported the plan, reversed his position this week and called Holder to lobby for moving the trial outside lower Manhattan. The city has claimed it will cost them hundreds of millions of dollars to provide security for a court case that is expected to last at least a year.

Following Bloomberg's reversal, lawmakers stepped up their opposition as well. Rep. Mike Pence said Friday on ABC's "Good Morning America" that it is "a terrible idea to return the mastermind of 9/11 to the scene of the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history."

The Indiana Republican said he believes some congressional Democrats will join Republicans in seeking legislation to block funding for security-related costs if the administration doesn't back down.

Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show Friday that he had spoken with several "high level" people in the administration and made his point that the trial would be expensive and disruptive to lower Manhattan. He said the administration understands and is "trying to do something."

"I said it would be phenomenally expensive and it is very disruptive to people who live in the area and businesses in the area," he said. "So the economic impact is detrimental, and nobody knows how big. And it would be better to do it elsewheres if they could find a venue."

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said Thursday he has introduced a bill that would prohibit the use of Justice Department funds to try Guantanamo detainees in federal civilian courts. Hours later, New York Gov. David Paterson said he wants discussion with federal officials on the issue of venue.

In addition, six senators on Tuesday wrote to Holder and urged him to abandon the idea.

The letter read, in part, "You will be providing them one of the most visible platforms in the world to exalt their past acts and to rally others in support of further terrorism."

It was signed by Senators Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut; John McCain, Republican of Arizona; Blanche L. Lincoln, Democrat of Arkansas; Susan M. Collins, Republican of Maine; Jim Webb, Democrat of Virginia; and Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina.

If the Mohammed's trial was moved, there is at least one alternative. The mayor of Newburgh, a small upstate New York city, said Friday his community would be the perfect site for trial.

Mayor Nicholas Valentine said Friday that Newburgh, a small, shopworn city about 60 miles up the Hudson River from the city, has a new state-of-the art courthouse than can easily be secured and is less than a 90-minute commute from Manhattan.

Valentine thinks Newburgh would benefit from the international attention, as well as the hordes of lawyers and reporters attending the trial. He'd also like to see a federal aid package if his city hosts the trial.