Now that the venue is finally set, a sinister question looms over the case of confessed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed: Will he use the court as a platform to spew his sickening diatribes?Experts say the terror thug will likely resist legal representation, opting instead to turn Manhattan Federal Court into his bully pulpit.
"The chances are excellent that he represents himself," said Ron Kuby, a defense lawyer known for taking on controversial clients.
"[Mohammed's] goal in the legal system is not to beat the rap. His goal is to use the legal system as a forum for his own ideas and to embrace martyrdom through that system."
As Mohammed and his underlings languished in Guantanamo Bay, a fleet of lawyers have worked to protect their rights.
But Mohammed repeatedly tried to get rid of his lawyers, Scott McKay and David Nevin, insisting he's bent on achieving martyrdom.
Even a lawyer for the ACLU, which has been helping to safeguard the rights of the terror gang, conceded that the likelihood they go it alone in court is high.
"It's quite possible that these defendants will undertake to represent themselves," Ben Wizner said. "They've been trying to fire their lawyers the whole time so they can be executed."
Experts say it's possible Mohammed will plead guilty, seeking a quicker path to death.
But if he opts to fight the charges and agrees to legal representation, his lawyer "will have powerful legal weapons at his disposal," said noted criminal defense attorney Alan Dershowitz.
Lawyers could seize on the time it's taken to prosecute the accused terrorists, arguing that they were denied their constitutional rights to a speedy trial.
A crafty defense lawyer might also employ a tactic called "graymailing," demanding reams of classified information in the hope that prosecutors refuse to release them. That provides an opening for a lawyer to request the indictment be dismissed.
Torture is also likely to play a central role in the case.
That Mohammed was waterboarded more than 180 times by CIA investigators is no secret.
"The first thing they're going to do is challenge all of the evidence and say all of it is the fruit of waterboarding," Dershowitz said.