Scenarios: Options for prosecuting 9/11 suspects

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is considering other sites to prosecute the accused plotters of the September 11, 2001, attack instead of downtown Manhattan because of concerns about security and costs. Here are some possibilities for proceeding with the trials.

GO FORWARD WITH TRIALS IN MANHATTAN:

The trials are set to be held at the federal courthouse in the Southern District of New York, which is in Manhattan. The courthouse is a few blocks from the World Trade Center site where the twin towers fell on September 11, 2001, after hijackers crashed commercial passenger jets into them. Wall Street and the Brooklyn Bridge are nearby.

The court complex includes a fortified detention center and secure courtroom that has been used for terrorism cases and would be used for the 9/11 suspects. Last month Holder toured the facilities, which includes a tunnel from the detention center to the courtroom.

A primary concern is the massive security it would take to prevent and thwart a possible attack. New Yorkers have complained about the expected disruption of traffic and commerce. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg estimated it would cost at least $200 million a year for security and has asked the Obama administration to pick up the tab.

Next week, President Barack Obama is expected to unveil his budget for fiscal 2011 (which starts October 1) which will likely include security money for the trials.

FIND AN ALTERNATE LOCATION:

There is another courthouse within the same jurisdiction -- in White Plains, New York. Some terrorism-related trials have been held there, but the courthouse would likely have to be fortified to accommodate trials for the 9/11 suspects. However local officials could raise similar security issues.

Prosecutors could ask for a change of venue to another jurisdiction, as was done in cases like the Oklahoma City bombing case. However other communities would likely balk. One option could be the Thomson prison in Illinois that the Obama administration is buying to house terrorism suspects. But it would take time to construct a court facility there.

Other locations have been suggested such as uninhabited Governor's Island, formerly a U.S. military and Coast Guard base about half a mile south of Manhattan. However there are no court facilities there, and one U.S. official said no terrorism case in the federal criminal court system has been prosecuted outside of a courthouse.

Local officials have also suggested Stewart Air National Guard Base, a medium security prison in southern New York or the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, about 50 miles north of New York City and surrounded by state parks and the Hudson River.

Bloomberg proposed the administration move the trials to a nearby military base where security would be less of a concern and the cost significantly less. However, there are no major military bases within the Manhattan jurisdiction. And there are questions about whether a civilian trial can be held on a military installation.

SWITCHING TRIALS TO MILITARY COMMISSIONS:

Despite pressure from some New Yorkers, Republicans in Congress as well as some Democrats, switching the trials from a U.S. criminal court back to military commissions is probably the least likely scenario.

Attorney General Holder in November decided to prosecute the 9/11 suspects in a civilian court rather than proceed with pending charges in a military commission. Those military charges were dropped last week in anticipation of forthcoming indictments against the suspects.

To switch back to a military tribunal would be a major reversal and capitulation by the administration to political pressure, which the White House and Justice Department have been loathe to do.

(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky, editing by Alan Elsner)