Biden's DoD revokes 9/11 terrorists' plea deal to put death penalty back on the table

"Responsibility for such a decision should rest with me."

ADVERTISEMENT

"Responsibility for such a decision should rest with me."

ADVERTISEMENT
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has revoked a plea deal agreement reached earlier this week with the mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks and two accomplices.

Earlier this week, Brig. Gen. Susan K. Escallier had signed a pretrial agreement with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi. The agreement included guilty sentences for life in prison, with the death penalty being completely off the table despite these men being behind the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people on 9/11.

On Friday, Austin took direct oversight of the case and canceled the agreement, reinstating the death penalty. In an order released on Friday, Austin explained that due to the high stakes involved, "responsibility for such a decision should rest with me."

“Effective immediately, in the exercise of my authority, I hereby withdraw from the three pretrial agreements that you signed on July 31, 2024,” he wrote.

With the plea deal being upended, military judge Col. Matthew N. McCall will likely resume hearing testimony for the case next week. The case against these suspects was previously set to not have jury selection start before 2026, which means a verdict could be years away. The case has had over a decade of pretrial proceedings, primarily focused on whether the detainees' information given under torture in CIA prisons could be used as evidence, according to the New York Times.

Austin’s decision comes as family members of victims expressed outrage that the death penalty was taken off the table and they weren’t consulted prior to the deal being made. Now, families have vocalized support for Austin's involvement.

“This is a really welcome development,” stated Terry Strada, whose husband was killed in the World Trade Center. “I’m happy to see the Pentagon getting involved. And glad the death penalty is back on the table. Otherwise, how could we be assured some administration would not commute their sentence or swap them in the future?”

An official at the Pentagon added that the decision was not influenced by the White House, per the NYT. The decision rested solely on Austin, who was not supportive of the plea deal and wanted the military commission trials to continue.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign in to comment

Comments

Powered by The Post Millennial CMS™ Comments

Join and support independent free thinkers!

We’re independent and can’t be cancelled. The establishment media is increasingly dedicated to divisive cancel culture, corporate wokeism, and political correctness, all while covering up corruption from the corridors of power. The need for fact-based journalism and thoughtful analysis has never been greater. When you support The Post Millennial, you support freedom of the press at a time when it's under direct attack. Join the ranks of independent, free thinkers by supporting us today for as little as $1.

Support The Post Millennial

Remind me next month

To find out what personal data we collect and how we use it, please visit our Privacy Policy

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
ADVERTISEMENT
© 2024 The Post Millennial, Privacy Policy | Do Not Sell My Personal Information