President Obama will likely order the Department of Defense’s Military Commission to drop all charges against a man accused of being the mastermind in the U.S.S. Cole bombing, which killed 17 sailors. Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri may later be charged in a civilian court, but will remain in custody…without charge.

ABC News has learned that on Friday, President Obama will likely order the Department of Defense’s Military Commission to withdraw charges against terrorist suspect Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. The charges may later be reinstated in a military commission or pursued in a civilian court. Al-Nashiri will remain in custody…

The announcement will not be made until after President Obama meets with the families of victims of terrorist attacks on 9/11 and on the U.S.S. Cole, where he will assure them that this step is not being done to be lenient towards al-Nashiri. The move is being done to stop the continued prosecution of al-Nashiri in a court system that his administration may ultimately find illegitimate, not for any other reason, sources told ABC News.

Don’t worry; we’re not being lenient on him, folks. We’re just likely to drop all charges against him, with no guarantee of future charges, and still detain him.

You’ll recall that President Obama requested a 120-day suspension in al-Nashiri’s trial — a request that a military judge denied. That left him with the option to either continue with the trial or drop the charges. Silly me, I didn’t figure he’d go with the latter for a terrorist that is allegedly responsible for killing 17 Americans. But you know, as long as The One feels that the trial is “legitimate”, what the hell.