On Friday afternoon, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reversed the decision to grant a plea deal to the mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks and two alleged accomplices, reinstating the death penalty as an option for these infamous terrorists.
Austin released a memo announcing that he had relieved the official responsible for approving the plea agreements, which had been widely criticized for ruling out the death penalty for the 9/11 perpetrators. He stated that he would personally oversee the case.
“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,” Austin 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,” he continued. “Effective immediately, in the exercise of my authority, I hereby withdraw from the three pre-trial agreements that you signed on July 31, 2024, in the above-referenced case.”
Earlier in the week, the Office of Military Commissions had announced it was negotiating a plea deal with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. Two alleged co-conspirators, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, were also offered plea deals.
All three men have been held in Guantanamo Bay, a U.S. military prison on the coast of Cuba, since 2003.
The New York Post reported that guilty plea hearings for charges of murder and conspiracy were expected to take place as soon as next week, with sentencing anticipated in the summer of 2025.
The Post also obtained a letter from the Office of Military Commissions revealing that the suspects had agreed to answer questions from the families of the victims about their roles and reasons for conducting the September 11 attacks. Family members of 9/11 victims were informed they could submit questions, which would be relayed to the men through their defense attorneys and answered within 90 days.
Following Austin’s memo, the plea hearings have been canceled, the Office of Military Commissions confirmed.
Family members of 9/11 victims, who were among the loudest voices against the plea deal, applauded the reversal.
“That’s good news,” retired FDNY Deputy Chief Al Santora, who lost his son Christopher in the attacks, told the Post. “Because the majority thought that was a cop-out on somebody’s part to give them a life sentence instead of the death sentence.”
“I think they got so much publicity that they changed their mind,” he added.
“I and many other 9/11 families were both devastated and angered at the decision to let the terrorists get away with murder,” said Sally Regenhard, whose son, Christian, an FDNY firefighter, was killed in the attack. “This move by Mr. Austin serves to restore our faith in the justice system of this country which my son served for five years in the US Marine Corps before serving the people of New York City as a member of the FDNY.”
“The families of 9/11 victims, the first responders still suffering and dying today, and all Americans, deserve justice,” said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY). “That begins with pursuing the death penalty and immediately setting a trial date so these terrorist monsters can be held accountable for their crimes against humanity.”
“I’m planning to stand with 9/11 families, first responders, and police unions on Monday to demand that the Biden-Harris administration take action to see that justice is finally served,” she added.