Kevin Johnson

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Describing the military prison at Guantanamo Bay as "a very fine place,'' Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Thursday that he would direct future enemy combatants to the Cuban detention center rather than attempt to prosecute them in federal court.

"I’ve been there a number of times as a senator, and it’s just a very fine place for holding these kinds of dangerous criminals,'' Sessions said in a interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. "We’ve spent a lot of money fixing it up. And I’m inclined to the view that it remains a perfectly acceptable place. And I think the fact that a lot of the criticisms have just been totally exaggerated.''

Despite former president Barack Obama's failed attempts to the close the facility, which he characterized as a symbol of American human rights abuses during wartime, Sessions called for a reassessment of the prison's use and a recommitment to long-stalled military commissions to prosecute terror suspects, including 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Sessions' remarks, which echoed comments that the former Alabama senator made at his January confirmation hearing, represent his most extensive public statements on the future of Guantanamo since taking office as attorney general.

Later Thursday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said President Trump has "no plans to close it.''

"The president has commented on the importance of Guantanamo,'' Spicer told reporters, recalling Trump's previous statements--promising to "load it up'' with terror suspects.

Spicer, however, said any plan for its expanded use has not yet been determined.

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"I think it's time for us to think through how we're going to use Guantanamo, to what extent we're going to use military commissions to try these unlawful combatants,'' Sessions said, adding that as "prisoners of war'' he saw no problem with their continued detention "throughout the time of the conflict.''

"We've got to get the military on board,'' the attorney general said. "By now, we should have worked through all the legal complications that the Obama administration seemed to allow to linger and never get decided, so nothing ever happened. So, it is time for us in the months to come to get this thing figured out and start using it in an effective way.''

Early in the Obama administration, then-attorney general Eric Holder prompted a political firestorm when he announced that Mohammed and four alleged 9/11 accomplices would stand trial in New York, rather than proceed with their military prosecutions. The strong pushback from lawmakers and some victims' relatives, who feared the prospect of a civilian trial would draw new attacks from allies of the terror suspects, triggered an abrupt reversal by the administration, leaving the suspects in Guantanamo where they have languished since.

"I don't think we're better off bringing these people to federal court in New York and trying them in federal court where they get discovery rights to find out our intelligence, and get court-appointed lawyers and things of that nature,'' Sessions said.

The attorney general said he saw "no problem'' with the facility's continued use.

"Oh, there's plenty of space,'' Sessions said. "We are well equipped for it. It's a perfect place'' for detaining terror suspects.