President Obama has acknowledged he’s unlikely to meet his own deadline to close the Guantanamo Bay prison. On Wednesday, Obama refused to give a new date to replace the January 22nd deadline, saying only the prison will be closed sometime next year. Obama meanwhile defended the decision to try the self-proclaimed mastermind behind for the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and four others in federal court.

President Obama: “I don’t think it will be offensive at all when he’s convicted and when the death penalty is applied to him. What I’m absolutely clear about is that I have complete confidence in the American people and in our legal traditions.”

Obama’s comments came as Attorney General Eric Holder appeared before a Senate committee to discuss the 9/11 trial. Holder rejected criticism the trial would endanger the United States.

Attorney General Eric Holder: “I knew this decision would be a controversial one. This was a tough call, and reasonable people can disagree with my conclusion that these individuals should be tried in federal court rather than a military commission. The 9/11 attacks were both an act of war and a violation of our federal criminal law, and they could have been prosecuted in either federal courts or military commissions.”