That line is consistent with Trump’s remarks since before he became president. During the 2016 presidential campaign, for instance, Trump said he would consider sending U.S. citizens to Guantanamo, where the U.S. has attempted to try terrorism suspects captured on the battlefield following the attacks of September 11, 2001; no U.S. citizen has ever been sent there. His remarks Wednesday notwithstanding, the federal court system has been far more effective at trying and convicting terrorism suspects than the military courts at Guantanamo. Since the September 11 attacks, eight people have been convicted of terrorism at Guantanamo. Of those, three convictions were completely overturned; one was partially overturned. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged 9/11 mastermind who has been at Guantanamo since he was captured in 2003, has yet to be tried. Federal courts, on the other hand, have convicted 620 terrorists, including such figures as Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called 20th hijacker, and Jose Padilla, the al-Qaeda member. [...]
Then there is the legal question of whether the administration can take individuals from the U.S. and transfer them to Guantanamo. Raha Wala, director of national-security advocacy at Human Rights First, a civil-liberties group, told me that it’s prohibited to try U.S. citizens at Guantanamo and legally problematic to try green-card holders, like Saipov, who are permanent residents of the U.S. and enjoy most of the same rights as citizens. [...]
At its peak, Guantanamo held more than 750 prisoners, but President Obama released those that were deemed to be of little to no risk and persuaded other countries to take them. Some 55 detainees, the so-called “worst of the worst” suspects, are still at the facility. If Trump has his way, Saipov will join them. But, as Wala said: “I think you’ll see an outcry [if that happens] ... and you’ll see efforts to bring accountability in court, as well.”
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