Conservatives are about to rediscover the trial of alleged embassy bomber Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani:
Reporting from Los Angeles and New York — The first civilian trial of a Guantanamo Bay terrorism suspect appeared deadlocked Monday when a juror asked to be dismissed because she felt "attacked" for being a lone holdout in reaching a verdict.
The potential for a hung jury and mistrial in the case of alleged Al Qaeda accomplice Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani threatened to further undermine the Obama administration's objective of trying "high-value" terror suspects in U.S. federal courts, including Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.
If there's no mistrial, expect silence. If there is a mistrial, expect gloating. Opponents of federal trials will point out that in military commissions, only two-thirds of a jury is necessary for a finding of guilt. In capital cases, though, such as the one involving KSM and the other alleged 9/11 conspirators, you'd still need a unanimous verdict, the lack of which could still result in a mistrial.