Mayor Mike Bloomberg Says No to 9/11 Trial in NYC

Apparently deciding that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has already done enough damage to New York City, Mayor Mike Bloomberg now says the self-styled 9/11 mastermind should not be tried in the city.

No immediate word from the White House, which the Times says was "surprised" and "chagrined" at Bloomberg's sentiments. The mayor had been a firm supporter of trying the scumbag here.

The billionaire mayor cited the cost of such a trial as his first concern: "It's going to cost an awful lot of money and disturb an awful lot of people. My hope is that the attorney general and the president decide to change their mind."

Is this just Bloomberg talking for public consumption, to soothe the grumbling and appease editorial writers? Didn't the White House check with him in the first place and didn't he OK it? No matter what both parties say, that had to have happened.

But it appears that Bloomberg is serious. Why else would he have said this at a Brooklyn press conference on the same day as Barack Obama's State of the Union speech? Talk about stepping on the president's toes. That should tell Obama that the mayor's serious.