Former Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey on Tuesday during a radio interview with The Washington Times joked that Rep. James Moran (D-Va.) “ought to get professional help, perhaps from Maj. Nidal [Hasan],” the accused Fort Hood shooter, The Huffington Post reports.

Last week, Moran criticized opponents of Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his Sept. 11, 2001, co-defendants in the Southern District of New York, Talking Points Memo reported. “They see this as an opportunity to demagogue,” Moran told TPM. “They will seize on any opportunity to do that, and that means they’ll even take a stand that’s un-American.” He added, “It’s un-American to hold anyone indefinitely without trial. It’s against our principles as a nation.”

During his interview, Mukasay was asked to respond to Moran’s comments. “I think he’s lost touch with reality. He ought to get professional help, perhaps from Maj. Nidal.” Last week, Mukasey slammedthe decision to try Mohammed in New York City.

As the Obama administration figures out where it can place Guantanamo Bay detainees before the military brig closes next year, there is one place they might have to scratch from their list of viable options: the supermax prison in Florence, Colo.

The facility — which already holds nearly three dozen terrorists, some with ties to al-Qaeda like September 11 plotter Zacarias Moussaoui — doesn’t have enough beds, The Denver Post reported today. There is only one bed open, U.S. Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Tracy Billingsley told The Post.

The jail would have to transfer some of its prisoners from the prison or increase its capacity in order to accommodate the detainees, which would mean hiring more staff, according to The Post.

“There’s a whole contingent of issues that have to be well thought out before we ever agreed to bring inmates of that caliber into our system,” said Bryan Lowry, president of the National Council of Prison Locals, which represents federal correctional officers, told The Post. “These inmates that are in there now are some of the most dangerous inmates in the nation. I don’t know how you move them out just to move inmates from Guantanamo in.â€�

We previously reported that Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) supported moving Guantanamo Bay detainees to the Colorado facility.

Florence Town Manager Tom Piltingsrud told The Post that locals probably wouldn’t mind the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to the prison. But he added that his town’s residents are prepared if there are any problems with the suspected terrorists.

“Most of us own guns,” he told The Post.

If Colorado doesn’t work out, some government officials are open to accepting detainees in their cities. We previously reported that Hardin, Mont. wouldn’t have a problem with hosting the detainees. Same goes for Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), who would support housing the detainees in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and Rep. James Moran (D-Va.), who would accept Guantanamo Bay prisoners in Alexandria, Va.

It’s been a tough day for the Obama administration on the emotional issue of closing Guantanamo Bay.

The Senate voted to strip funds for President Obama’s promise to close the Cuba-based detention facility. FBI Director Robert Mueller equivocated about the wisdom of putting Gitmo detainees in U.S. prisons before a House Judiciary hearing. And Attorney General Eric Holder expressed his serene confidence in a news conference today that the “necessary funds will come our way” to keep Obama’s promise to shutter the facility by Jan. 22, 2010.

Amid the uncertainty about closing the facility, we decided to tally the number of lawmakers who’ve gone so far as to introduce Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) legislation to bar the resettlement of detainees in their states or districts.

The result? Twenty-three lawmakers — all Republicans — have filed such legislation. Most of the bills would bar detainee resettlement or public assistance. None has attracted more than 18 co-sponsors.  Take a look:

Lynn Jenkins

• Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.), 18 co-sponsors
• Rep. Henry E. Brown Jr. (R-S.C.), 2 co-sponsors
• Rep. Duncan D. Hunter (R-Calif.), 3 co-sponsors
• Rep. Mary Fallin (R-Okla.), 4 co-sponsors
• Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.), 0 co-sponsors
• Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), 6 co-sponsors
• Rep. Sue Wilkins Myrick (R-N.C.) 0 co-sponsors
• Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), 0 co-sponsors
• Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), 25 co-sponsors *
• Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), 8 co-sponsors *
• Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), 11 co-sponsors *
• Rep. Thomas J. Rooney (R-Fla.), 9 co-sponsors
• Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R-Va.), 7 co-sponsors
• Rep. John B. Shadegg (R-Ariz.), 29 c0-sponsors *
  

  Saxby Chambliss

• Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), 2 c0-sponsors
• Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), 138 co-sponsors *
• Rep. Steve Austria (R-Ohio), 4 co-sponsors
• Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), 9 co-sponsors
• Rep. Mark E. Souder (R-Ind.), 8 co-sponsors *
• Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), 0 co-sponsors *
• Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), 2 co-sponsors *
• Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Ohio), 6 co-sponsors *
• Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), 5 co-sponsors *

* denotes a bill that applies to the entire United States, as opposed to a state or district

Rep. Randy Forbes

Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) was so concerned that he proposed two bills to stop detainees from entering Virginia.  It’s worth noting that his fellow Rep. James Moran (D-Va.) is the only member of Congress on record to say that he would accept detainees from Guantanamo Bay in the district that he represents.   On the other hand, Moran’s position has caused trouble for his brother Brian Moran, who is running for the Democratic nomination for governor of Virginia.  But in Oklahoma, House members have been united, all signing onto H.R.701 to prohibit transfer of detainees to Oklahoma, this includes Democrat Rep. Dan Boren.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) had an interesting proposal, rather than going all out and prohibiting detainees from entering the United States, he wanted to put the decision in the hands of each state’s governor and legislature:

21. H.R.2294 : To require the approval of the relevant State governor and legislature and the President’s notification and certification before the transfer or release of an individual currently detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to a location in the United States, and for other purposes.

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) took another interesting approach, making the entry of a Guantanamo Bay detainee into the United States contingent on President Obama’s determination that such entry “is consistent with the national security of the United States.”  Vitter named his bill the “Protection from Enemy Combatants Act.”  Elegant.

David Vitter

One concern among Republicans is regarding Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair’s remark that detainees from Guantanamo may need some assistance to start their new lives in the United States. Like what? Welfare, food stamps, Medicaid? Enter Rep. Todd Tiahrt’s (R-Kan.) proposal:

23. H.R.2338 : To prohibit any alien formerly detained at the Department of Defense detention facility at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and brought into the United States from receiving any Federal, State, or local public benefit.

Rep. Howard Cole (R-N.C.) expressed his concern about the issue when Attorney General Eric Holder appeared before the House Judiciary Committee last Thursday, to which Holder responded that “no final decision has been made as to what will happen to the detainees.”

And finally for the “most random bill”…  Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) proposed a bill:

13. H.R.1042 : To prohibit the provision of medical treatment to enemy combatants detained by the United States at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in the same facility as a member of the Armed Forces or Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility.

For Stephen Colbert’s take on NIMBYism, and to see some of the more entertaining remarks made by members of Congress on this issue, watch the clip below:

Not everybody is annoyed by Vice President Dick Cheney’s media blitz.  On Fox News Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) gave Cheney the credit for causing President Obama to reverse on some of his national security policies:   

I think the administration has responded to the critique of the vice president and others that it…might be drifting off in the wrong direction on national security issues.

McConnell then took the opportunity to urge the President to reconsider closing Guantanamo Bay, an action he took during his first day of office.  On the issue of bringing detainees into the United States, McConnell said:

There’s no reason in the world to bring these people to the United States.  I don’t think there’s a community in America that’s going to be interested in taking them.

To our knowledge, the only Congressional representative to declare his willingness to accept former Guantanamo Bay detainees (and stick to it) is Rep. James Moran (D-Va.).

In related news, Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) has reversed his position on Guantanamo Bay and its closure.

Over the weekend, Rep. James Moran (D-Va.) wrote an article in the Washington Post about the dilemna of relocating prisoners once they are removed from Guanatanamo Bay.  While many senators and representatives have balked at the idea of prisoners being relocated to their states and districts, Moran offered a more conciliatory response stating that “[b]y and large, Alexandrians are civic-minded people and are ready to do their duty if it serves the greater good.”  While Moran did not outright say “bring ‘em over,” he made it clear that he would air no objection in the event that President Obama decided to relocate Guantanamo detainees to the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse and Detention Center in Alexandria, concluding:

Let there be no mistake: I’m not advocating for this burden. If there are more suitable locations in which to try the detainees, it would be a relief to all in this area. But should President Obama determine that Alexandria needs to play a reasonably limited role in a nationwide effort to bring justice to the Guantanamo detainees and close this unfortunate chapter of American history, I am confident that Alexandrians will stand strong as they always have.

The Obama administration is required to present a detailed plan by October 1 on how it intends to relocate the Guantanamo Bay detainees.