Just when there was thought to be some progress in the decades-long case involving three masterminds behind the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, news broke that the government called off a plea deal with the prisoners.
Last week, an agreement was reached between the American government and three men accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Mustafa al-Hawsawi, and Walid bin-Attash were set to plead guilty to all charges against them–including being responsible for nearly 3,000 murders–in exchange for life sentences instead of the death penalty. But Lloyd Austin, the United States Secretary of Defense, rescinded the offer days after it was finalized.
The news was revealed in an August 2 memorandum from Austin addressed to retired General Susan Escallier, who directs the military commission of the court system in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where the three men have been held for years. The memo was written to take into account the “authority to enter into pre-trial agreements” in light of Escallier’s recent actions. Her signature detailed a plea deal with the three defendants that would have become official when they entered a plea during a hearing as early as this week.
According to Austin, however, the “significance of the decision” is not one to be taken lightly. He noted in his memo that the intensity of the case renders the necessity for him to have the “responsibility” to make such a call. Per the 2009 Military Commissions Act, the Secretary of Defense is the “superior convening authority” over the military commission overseeing the trial.
Austin informed Escallier that he “withdraw[s] your authority” to authorize a pre-trial agreement “effective immediately,” noting that he “reserve[s] such authority” for himself. Based on that authority, the Defense Secretary added that he negated the three agreements signed by Escallier on July 31.
The plea deal was the product of more than two years of negotiations between the defendants and the American government. Mohammed and his co-conspirators first entered into these conversations in March 2022, eventually agreeing to plead guilty to the murders of 2,976 Americans killed in the hijacking scheme almost 23 years ago.
At the time of the agreement announcement last week, prosecutors in the high-profile case explained that the decision–which had been reached following over a decade of litigation before ever starting a trial–was “not reached lightly.” They acknowledged that it would “elicit intense emotion” and “mixed reactions” from family members who lost loved ones during the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Though admittedly complicated, prosecutors added that the move to agree to a plea deal that would spare Mohammed and his fellow defendants capital punishment was the result of their “collective, reasoned, and good-faith” determination that it was “the best path” to take in the case.
Such a decision, however well-informed it may be, sparked outrage among victims’ families, some of whom argued that entering into a plea deal would inhibit their ability to learn the truth about what happened on September 11, 2001. Others are throwing shade at Democratic leaders in the White House, although President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have reportedly not been involved in the pre-trial negotiations.
One Republican lawmaker took immediate action. Days after the agreement was signed by Escallier, Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers–who serves as the head of the House Armed Services Committee–wrote to Austin requesting more information about the details of the plea deal. He described the move as a “gut punch” to victims’ families and expressed that he was “deeply shocked” by this course of action.
