Holder: Bin Laden Unlikely to Be Captured Alive

WASHINGTON, March 16, 2010— -- Attorney General Eric Holder predicted today it was unlikely that Osama bin Laden would ever face a trial in the United States since he would likely be killed.

"You're talking about a hypothetical that will never occur. The reality is that we will be reading Miranda rights to the corpse of Osama bin Laden. He will never appear in an American courtroom," Holder said.

"The possibilities simply do not exist." Holder later said, "It's infinitesimal."

"He will be killed by us, or he will be killed by his own people so that he is not captured by us," he said.

Holder, appearing before a House Appropriations subcommittee today, also announced that the Obama administration was "weeks away" from reaching a decision on how -- and where -- to prosecute alleged Sept. 11, 2001 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed.

The attorney general defended his decision to try Mohammed and four alleged co-conspirators before a civilian jury in New York City.

The decision was shelved after what Holder called several months of undermining by local leaders in New York and internal debates among White House officials.

In an exchange with Rep. John Culberson, R-Texas, Holder defended his counterterrorism policies and the powers and effectiveness of the U.S. court system. "My focus is how we seek justice...I've used both Article III [civilian] courts and military commissions," Holder said.