Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has taken action to revoke plea agreements that would have allowed alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two of his accomplices to avoid a death penalty trial.
The Department of Defense (DOD) announced earlier this week that Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi had entered plea deals that would keep them in prison for life while avoiding the capital punishment trial, which has been held up due to a series of legal maneuvers for more than 12 years.
While the decision was praised by some, it prompted an avalanche of criticism from others, especially Republican politicians who accused the Biden administration of being too soft on defendants from the day of infamy, September 11, 2001, when nearly 3,000 Americans were killed.
In a memorandum released by the Pentagon Friday night, Austin informed Brigadier General Susan Escallier, the military official who signed off on the plea deals, that he was seizing control of the case and rescinding the agreements.
“I have determined that, in light of the significance of the decision to enter into pretrial agreements with the accused in the above-referenced case, responsibility for such a decision should rest with me as the superior convening authority under the Military Commissions Act of 2009,” Austin wrote.
“Effective immediately, I hereby withdraw your authority in the above-referenced case to enter into a pretrial agreement and reserve such authority to myself,” he added. “Effective immediately, in the exercise of my authority, I hereby withdraw from the three pretrial agreements that you signed on July 31, 2024 in the above-referenced case.”
Newsweek reached out for comment to the DOD via email on Friday night.
The now-canceled plea agreements were announced more than 16 years after Mohammed and his accomplices were charged in the attacks. The defendants were arraigned on the charges in 2012, with the proceedings having never moved past the pretrial stage.
Mohammed and the other defendants have avoided trial for an extended period due in part to legal issues caused by the government using torture on 9/11 defendants at an assortment of “black sites” around the world. The agreements were thought to be a compromise to ensure that the suspects would not be acquitted at trial.
While the Associated Press reported that some 9/11 family members had requested formal admissions of guilt from the defendants, which the agreements would have necessitated, others reacted with disapproval and disappointment.
“We are deeply troubled by these plea deals,” Brett Eagleson, president of 9/11 Justice, a group comprising survivors, first responders and family members of victims, said in a statement provided to Newsweek.
The response from Republican lawmakers was more pointed and at times infused with partisan politics.
“The Biden-Harris Administration has done the unthinkable: they’ve agreed to a plea deal with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the September 11th attacks, and two of his accomplices,” Speaker of the House Mike Johnson wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Republican Congressman Mike Lawler of New York called the plea deals “outrageous and unacceptable” and “a slap in the face to every family that lost a loved one on 9/11 and since, and to every survivor who continues to struggle with health effects from that terrible day.”
After Austin intervened to reverse the decision, the criticism continued. Stephen Miller, former top adviser to ex-President Donald Trump, accused President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, of working to “humiliate” the country.
“Harris gave a sweetheart deal to KSM,” Miller said. “The Pentagon just revoked it under withering criticism. Biden and Kamala continue to humiliate us beyond measure on a daily basis. The two incompetents.”
The White House was informed of the plea agreement on Wednesday and Biden played “no role in this process,” a National Security Council spokesperson told Newsweek.
