Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revoked the plea agreements for the 9/11 terrorist attack mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two others, and relieved the official in charge of military courts in Guantanamo Bay.
The move puts the possibility of the death penalty back on the table for the trio. It was announced in a memorandum on Friday. In justifying his decision, Lloyd said that the severity of the matter meant that the decision to accept a plea deal should rest with him alone.
“I have determined that, in light of the significance of the decision to enter into pre-trial agreements with the accused in the above-referenced case, responsibility for such a decision should rest with me as the superior convening authority under the Military Commissions Act of 2009,” he wrote. “Effective immediately, I hereby withdraw your authority in the above-referenced case to enter into a pre-trial agreement and reserve such authority to myself.”
On Wednesday, the Department of Defense reached a plea deal with Mohammed, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Ramzi Bin al Shibh, three men accused of planning the attacks and murdering nearly 3,000 people. The details of the deal weren’t made public.
The deal was met with outrage from Republicans, prompting the White House to distance itself from the decision.
“We had no role in that process,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Thursday. “The president had no role. The vice president had no role. I had no role. The White House had no role.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) demanded further information about the decision in a letter to President Joe Biden earlier on Friday, criticizing the alleged lack of transparency in the process.
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“The specific terms of the pre-trial agreements remain undisclosed to the public or families of the victims,” he wrote. “You are allowing these terrorists to avoid the death penalty, signaling to our enemies that the United States is reluctant to pursue full justice against those who attack our nation.”
9/11 Justice, which represents families of the victims of the attacks, said they were “astounded and deeply frustrated that our families were not consulted or even notified in advance of the plea deal or its subsequent revocation.”
President Brett Eagleton said: “These monsters need to be forced to share every piece of information they have about the attacks and be held fully accountable for the murder of our loved ones. It’s not just about punishment, it’s about uncovering the full truth.”
