Disgrace. Miscarriage of justice. Cowardice. These are just a few of the choice words some lawmakers had for the Convening Authority for Military Commissions’ acceptance of a plea deal with 9/11 terrorists.
On Wednesday, the Department of Defense said it had made agreements with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi. The three, accused of masterminding the attacks, are awaiting trial at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba.
The Pentagon said that the details of the pretrial agreements aren’t available.
However, according to a letter sent from war court prosecutors to the families of 9/11 victims, the men agreed to admit guilt for conspiracy and murder charges. In return, they will receive life sentences instead of going through a trial at Guantanamo Bay.
The defendants are accused of helping the 19 terrorists who took over passenger planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on September 11, 2001. They are said to have provided training, money, and other support to these terrorists.
The attack, which left almost 3,000 dead, is the worst terrorist attack in the nation’s history.
The men have been in U.S. custody since 2003. They first went to court on June 5, 2008, and again on May 5, 2012. According to the Department of Defense, they are scheduled to be sentenced on August 5.
Rear Adm. Aaron Rugh of the Office of Military Commissions sent a letter to 9/11 victims’ families. He told them that the defendants agreed to plead guilty to all charges to avoid the death penalty.
Michael Burke was shocked when he received the letter. He told the AP that it’s disgraceful that the men still haven’t been convicted. Burke’s bother Billy was a firefighter who died in the World Trade Center’s North Tower. He said Billy would be surprised to learn that the people responsible for his death would be getting plea deals instead of the death penalty.
New York lawmakers found the decision especially hard to accept. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) said that “any agreement with the terrorists who killed thousands of Americans” was “unacceptable.”
Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) agreed, telling The Post that “the world would be better if these monsters were no longer alive.”
He added that the terrorists who killed thousands of Americans on September 11th shouldn’t get to live out their lives at the cost of American taxpayers. Meanwhile, he said, the families of the victims are left to deal with the aftermath.
Other lawmakers weighed in, agreeing that the plea deal was inappropriate. Sen. James Risch (R-ID) said that the “Biden-Harris administration let down not just the families who lost loved ones on 9/11, but every American.”
Republican VP candidate and former marine J.D. Vance called the plea deal ridiculous but unsurprising.
“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have weaponized the Department of Justice to go after their political opponents, but they’re cutting a sweetheart deal with 9/11 terrorists,” Vance said. “We need a president who kills terrorists, not negotiates with them.”
Vance also noted a deal the Biden administration had cut with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. J.D. Vance said that recent news from Venezuela shows they made a deal with the dictator if he promised “free and fair elections” in his country in return. Vance added that it’s no surprise the Harris administration doesn’t understand free and fair elections.
Maduro, who recently “won” re-election, faces allegations of a stolen election.
Former President Donald Trump’s administration decided not to make any plea deals with the terrorists. In September 2023, Biden seemed to agree by rejecting a proposed plea deal.
The White House said they only learned about the plea deal on Wednesday. An official from the National Security Council noted President Biden was not involved in this decision. The spokesman said the military justice system is handling the case.
The decision is tragic, but the timing couldn’t have been better. The Trump campaign has three months to highlight the comparisons between this travesty of justice and Harris’s soft-on-crime, pro-criminal policies.
