Ashcroft Defends Civilian Trials for Terrorists

Sam Stein catches up to the former Attorney General at CPAC:

In an interview with the Huffington Post at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the former Bush administration official said that there are “a variety of tools that ought to be available to an administration” in its efforts to curb terrorism and bring terrorists to justice.

Asked specifically about holding civilian trials for terrorists, he said such a venue “has use and utility.”

When asked how to distinguish whether to use a military tribunal system or criminal courts for terrorist suspects, Ashcroft said: “It depends on the circumstances.”

Of course, Ashcroft prevented the Bush White House from circumventing the Justice Department’s certification that blanket surveillance in the name of counterterrorism was illegal, so you know he’s a squish.