Nearly a year after he announced his ill-fated decision to prosecute the five alleged 9/11 conspirators in a New York civilian court, Attorney General Eric Holder said on Wednesday that a final decision on where to now try them is “close.”

“We have been working on it, and I think we are close to a decision,” Holder said, declining to offer any specifics and skirting past a question over whether the decision would come by year’s end.

Speaking to reporters in Washington alongside Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and their Canadian counterparts, Holder said the decision over where to prosecute Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Al Qaeda associates will be guided by “what is best for the case and for justice in that case,” adding, “I would hope that whatever the decision is, it would be one that would be judged on the merits.”

Within an hour of Holder’s remarks, Rep. Peter T. King, R-N.Y., who is expected to become chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee in January, called on the Obama administration to have the military prosecute the case.

“I urge Attorney General Holder not to hold any 9/11 trials in New York or anywhere in the United States.  These 9/11 terrorists should be tried before a military commission at Guantanamo,” King said in the statement.

When asked privately when the Justice Department will make a decision in the case, some Justice Department officials insist the Justice Department has already made a decision: The one that was announced in November 2009. Such sentiments suggest those Justice Department officials believe the White House is in control of the final decision.

On Nov. 13, 2009, at a much-anticipated press conference in Washington, Holder announced that, “After eight years of delay, those allegedly responsible for the attacks of September the 11th will finally face justice.”

“They will be brought to New York to answer for their alleged crimes in a courthouse just blocks away from where the Twin Towers once stood,” he said.

Within months, however, Holder and the Obama administration backed off that decision, thanks in large part to opposition from New York City officials, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Republican lawmakers in Washington. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also opposed any civilian-court prosecution in his state.

The disposition of the so-called “9/11 case” has been in limbo ever since.

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(Read More: Fox News)