Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Rescinds 9/11 Terrorists’ Plea Deal After Backlash

In a memo released Friday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the revocation of the recent plea deal for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, and his co-conspirators. Austin also stated he would relieve the official overseeing the agreement, despite years of efforts to resolve the case.

Just two days earlier, the Pentagon announced a plea deal with Mohammed, commonly referred to as KSM, and two other defendants, Walid Bin’ Attash and Hawasawi, accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks.

Wednesday’s pretrial agreement would have sent Mohammed and his co-defendants to prison in exchange for pleading guilty to all charges, including conspiracy and the murder of the 2,976 people.

However, the plea deal announcement sparked fierce backlash from Republicans and Democrats, and groups representing 9/11 victims who have urged the U.S. government to seek the death penalty for the terrorists.

“While we acknowledge the decision to avoid the death penalty, our primary concern remains access to these individuals for information,” said Brett Eagleson, president of 9/11 Justice, an organization representing 9/11 survivors and victims’ families, following the plea deal’s announcement.

“These plea deals should not perpetrate a system of closed-door agreements, where crucial information is hidden without giving the families of the victims the chance to learn the full truth,” he added.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), who represents 9/11 victims’ families, also expressed concerns about the plea deal, arguing that the administration owes Americans an explanation for the agreement. 

“I think there are interests here that may not have been represented as fairly and aggressively as they should have been,” said Blumenthal in a statement. “When we fight terrorists, and we have them in custody, we need to hold them accountable with the kinds of penalties that really do justice to the victims.”

Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-South Carolina) similarly warned that the plea deal “sends a horribly bad signal at a very dangerous time.”

“The world is on fire, terrorism is rampant, and we give a plea deal to the mastermind of 9/11? That just encourages more attacks,” Graham said in a statement.

In response to the controversy, Friday’s memo, addressed to Susan Escallier, the authority overseeing military commissions at Guantanamo Bay, stated that Austin would immediately revoke her authority in the cases and “reserve such authority to [himself].”

In the memo, Austin asserted that the responsibility for such a significant decision “should rest with me.”

He also announced his withdrawal from the three recently announced pre-trail agreements, which had removed the death penalty as an option for the three defendants.

Prosecutors have been considering a plea deal for over two years to avoid a lengthy trial complicated by the admissibility of evidence obtained through torture at secret CIA prisons in the 2000s.

Mohammed was charged in 2008 with conspiracy, murder in violation of the law of war, attacking civilians, causing serious bodily injury, destruction of property, terrorism and material support of terrorism.

His trial, originally set for January 11, 2021, where the U.S. planned to seek the death penalty, was delayed due to the resignations of two judges and the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2009, then-Attorney General Eric Holder announced plans to charge the three defendants in the U.S. criminal court in Manhattan, in line with President Barack Obama‘s goal of closing Guantanamo prison.

However, Republicans passed laws blocking the prison closure and insisted that military tribunals were more appropriate, leading Holder to abandon his plans for the trial.