Ahmed Ghailani, a Guantanamo detainee accused of bombing the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, was transferred to New York today to face trial. The Republicans are, predictably, treating it like a doomsday scenario. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) called it “the first step in the Democrats’ plan to import terrorists into America” while seeming aghast that the detainees may get similar rights to American citizens.

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) popped into MSNBC to shoot his own holes into logic:

Why in the world would somebody be so focused on the rights of a terrorist instead of keeping Americans safe? There are so many unanswered questions about bringing these detainees on to U.S. soil. We have no judicial precedents for the conviction of someone like this. It is just wrong for us to be bringing these detainees here given the current situation and the unanswered questions. We ought to be putting the safety of American citizens first.

There are indeed judicial precedents for the conviction of “someone like this”. The Department of Justice released a fact sheet today titled “Prosecuting and Detaining Terror Suspects in the U.S. Criminal Justice System” that includes a list of nine terrorism cases that have been successfully tried in the Southern District of New York.

The judicial precedents in question:

Major Historical Cases in SDNY

1993 World Trade Center Bombing: After two trials, in 1993 and 1997, six defendants were convicted and sentenced principally to life in prison for detonating a truck bomb in the garage of the World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring hundreds more. One of the defendants convicted at the second trial was Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the attack.

1994-95 Manila Air Plot: Ramzi Yousef and two others were convicted in 1996 for plotting to plant bombs aboard a dozen U.S. commercial aircraft that were timed to go off as the planes were flying over the Pacific. The defendants were sentenced to substantial prison terms. Yousef concocted the plan with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is currently detained at Guantanamo Bay and has been indicted in SDNY for the Manila Air conspiracy since 1996.

1995 “Blind Sheikh” Trial: Ten defendants associated with a mosque in Brooklyn, N.Y., were convicted of plotting to blow up the World Trade Center, United Nations headquarters, and various bridges, tunnels and landmarks in and around New York City. The lead defendant, Omar Abdel Rahman, also known as the “Blind Sheikh,” was sentenced to life in prison, while his co-defendants were sentenced to prison terms ranging between life and 25 years.

Bin Laden Indictment and Embassy Bombings Trial: Shortly after the August 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, SDNY indicted Usama Bin Laden and approximately 20 alleged al-Qaeda loyalists for conspiring to murder Americans worldwide. Many of the defendants were also charged for their roles in the attacks on the U.S. Embassies in East Africa, including three defendants who were convicted after a six-month trial in early 2001. Those three defendants, and a fourth al-Qaeda member who was tried with them, were all sentenced to life in prison.

Recent Cases in SDNY:

James Cromitie et al.: On May 20, 2009, four individuals — James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen — were arrested on charges arising from a plot to detonate explosives near a synagogue in the Bronx, N.Y., and to shoot Stinger surface-to-air guided missiles at military planes located at a the National Guard Base at Stewart Airport in Newburgh, N.Y. On June 2, 2009, all four defendants were charged in an eight-count indictment and face potential life in prison, if convicted.*

Oussama Kassir: On May 12, 2009, Oussama Kassir was convicted of charges related to his participation in an effort to establish a jihad training camp in Oregon and his operation of several terrorist Web sites containing instructions about how to make bombs and poisons. Kassir was found guilty of all 11 charges against him, including providing material support to al-Qaeda and distributing information on explosives and weapons of mass destruction.

Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse: On April 21, 2009, accused Somalian pirate Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse was transported to the SDNY to face criminal charges stemming from his alleged participation in the April 8, 2009, hijacking of the Maersk Alabama container ship in the Indian Ocean. Muse is charged in a 10-count indictment and faces a mandatory life sentence, if convicted.*

U.S. v. Viktor Bout: On April 9, 2008, international arms dealer Viktor Bout was arrested by Thai authorities on a provisional arrest warrant based on an SDNY complaint, which charged conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Bout was later indicted for, among other things, conspiring to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) to be used to kill Americans in Colombia. Bout has been in custody in Thailand since March 6, 2008, pending an extradition request by the United States.*

Monzer al Kassar et. al.: On Nov. 20, 2008, international arms trafficker Monzer al Kassar and a co-defendant were convicted after a three-week jury trial of all charges — including conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals; conspiracy to murder U.S. officers; conspiracy to acquire and export anti-aircraft missiles; and conspiracy to provide material support and resources to the FARC, a designated foreign terrorist organization — for conspiring to sell millions of dollars worth of high-powered weapons to the FARC to be used to kill Americans in Colombia. Al Kassar, who had been extradited on these charges from Spain, and the co-defendant, who had been extradited from Romania (the first ever to the United States on terrorism charges), were sentenced to 30 and 25 years in prison, respectively. Another co-defendant, who was also extradited from Romania, was found guilty on similar charges, and awaits sentencing.

The fact sheet goes on to list terrorism cases that have been successfully prosecuted across the nation. There is also a list of international and domestic terrorism convicts that have been housed in America’s prisons for quite some time now without incident.

The document is a good push back on the part of the Administration. But it won’t do any good if the media keeps treating every issue as though it is opinion oriented. If a statement is factually inaccurate, the speaker should be called upon it immediately. If they have a history of being factually inaccurate, they should not be invited to speak  Yes, that may mean that MSNBC can’t book Eric Cantor to yell about random things for five minutes. I’m sure we’d all weep over that tragic loss. But if ratings are really more important than accuracy, invite Spencer Pratt on to give his opinion. The station will get its advertising money and the course of the nation’s political system won’t be compromised.