FactCheck.org: RJC’s anti-Sestak Ad is a “Stretch”

David Streeter — October 26, 2010 – 12:03 pm | Election 2010 | Republicans | Stop the Smears Comments (0) Add a comment

FactCheck.org has done some investigating into the Republican Jewish Coalition’s (RJC) ad against Pennsylvania Senate candidate Representative Joe Sestak. According to FactCheck.org, the ad “is a stretch.”

FactCheck.org wrote:

The Republican Jewish Coalition says it is spending $1 million in the Pennsylvania Senate race on an ad attacking Democrat Joe Sestak for wanting to hold trials of alleged 9/11 terrorists ‘in our backyard’ in Pennsylvania. But Sestak is not advocating holding terror trials in Pennsylvania. He said he would accept them if they were to happen, because he supports civilian, rather than military, trials for terrorists.

The truth is [emphasis added]:

It’s true that Mohammed’s case, if tried in a federal court, would follow constitutionally guaranteed trial process rules. Included in that process, under the Sixth Amendment, is the trial location. In Mohammed’s case, that would mean holding his trial in one of the districts where the crime was committed: Manhattan, Northern Virginia or Western Pennsylvania.

Sestak has publicly supported trying Mohammed in a civilian court, but to say he “wanted” the trial in Pennsylvania is a stretch.

The Republican Jewish Coalition uses a Wall Street Journal blog post to support its claim. The ad correctly displays the blog’s headline, but omits Sestak’s actual words in the article.

Wall Street Journal, Feb. 25: Sestak was in the Pentagon when terrorists slammed an airliner into the building. His first choice is to try the alleged plotters in Northern Virginia. Manhattan is his second choice. A trial just blocks from the former site of the Twin Towers ‘would show the strength of the American judicial system,’ he said.

But he would be happy to bring them to Pennsylvania as well. ‘I would accept them anywhere in America, to be brought here, to be brought to justice, to have the keys thrown away or to have them given the death sentence by a jury of our peers,’ he said.

Pennsylvania is Sestak’s third choice. That’s not the same as saying he wants terror trials in Pennsylvania.

 

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