In a surprising turn of events, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has revoked a plea deal for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, and his co-conspirators, Walid Bin ‘Attash, and Hawsawi. The plea deal, which was announced only two days prior, would have seen the defendants sentenced to prison in exchange for pleading guilty to all charges, including conspiracy and the murder of the 2,976 people listed in the charging sheet. The deal also took the death penalty off the table for the three men.
In a memo released on Friday, Austin stated that the responsibility for such a significant decision “should rest with me.” He also relieved Susan Escallier, the convening authority for military commissions who runs the military courts at Guantanamo Bay, of her authority in these cases.
The plea deal had been under negotiation since March 2022 and was seen as a way to avoid a lengthy trial complicated by questions over the admissibility of evidence obtained during torture. However, the announcement of the deal sparked a fierce backlash from both sides of the political aisle and some groups representing 9/11 victims who have pushed for the US government to pursue the death penalty for the worst attacks on US soil since Pearl Harbor.
Brett Eagleson, the president of 9/11 Justice, an organization that represents 9/11 survivors and family members of victims, stated, “These plea deals should not perpetuate 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.”
The revocation of the plea deal means that the case returns to a state of legal gridlock, with the military trial against Mohammed and his alleged co-conspirators delayed for years as the US tried to determine how to handle the issue of torture used against Mohammed and others at secret CIA prisons in the 2000s.
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