The trial of the five 9/11 conspirators currently in custody in Guantanamo Bay has been stuck in endless legal delays for nearly a decade. While the Department of Defense, which is overseeing all pre-trial arrangements, has not made public any specific terms and conditions in the plea deals, it is widely believed that the plea deal will allow Mohammed and two other conspirators to avoid the death penalty in exchange for pleading guilty to all charges.
Gary B. Sowards, the lead attorney for Mohammed, confirmed this in a statement to the media, noting that the essence of the agreement means prosecutors will not seek the death penalty but will instead allow Mohammed and the two others who bargained with the government to serve life in prison.
The other two 9/11 conspirators are Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi. The first three are expected to enter their pleas at the military commission at Guantanamo Bay within a week.
Mohammed, Attash and al-Hawsawi have been charged with providing training, financial support and other assistance to the 19 terrorists who hijacked passenger airplanes and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania – with the latter's intended target being either the Capitol or the White House – on Sept. 11, 2001.
Authorities point to Mohammed as one of the prime masterminds of the 9/11 attacks, along with Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Intelligence gathered since the attacks even indicates that Mohammed may have been the one to suggest to Bin Laden to use passenger aircraft as weapons.
Republicans alarmed by Biden admin's willingness to negotiate with 9/11 terrorists
The fact that the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris is willing to negotiate with the terrorists regarding their sentences has led to strong condemnation from the Republican Party. (Related: Whistleblowers claim CIA recruited patsy hijackers for 9/11, hid truth from FBI.)
"This plea deal with terrorists – including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks that killed thousands of Americans – is a revolting abdication of the government's responsibility to defend America and provide justice," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
"The Biden-Harris Department of Justice cut a deal with Al Qaeda terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to avoid the death penalty," said Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), former President Donald Trump's running mate for the White House. "Now, as someone who enlisted in the Marines to serve after 9/11, that is ridiculous. But it's not surprising."
"Twenty-three years ago, America watched in horror as thousands of innocent Americans died. America mourned for weeks afterward as first responders sifted through the ashes at Ground Zero, at the Pentagon and at the crash site in Shanksville," wrote House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). "For more than two decades, the families of those murdered by these terrorists have waited for justice. This plea deal is a slap in the face of those families. They deserved better from the Biden-Harris administration."
Families of 9/11 victims horrified by plea deal
The families of the 9/11 victims were the first to be notified that the government had reached a plea deal, after they were sent a letter from Rear Adm. Aaron Rugh, the chief prosecutor.
Along with pleading guilty to all charges, including the murder of nearly 3,000 people, they have agreed to respond to further interrogation from family members of 9/11 victims "regarding their roles and reasons for conducting" the attacks. The three terrorists will submit their responses to the families within 90 days of receiving the queries.
Brett Eagleston, president of 9/11 Justice, said his group is "deeply troubled by these plea deals," adding that the they are not bothered by the decision to avoid the death penalty, but rather the lack of transparency regarding the whole arrangement.
"These plea deals should not perpetuate a system of closed-door agreements where crucial information is hidden without giving the families of the victims the chance to learn the full truth," said Eagleston.
Terry Strada, national chairperson of a group of families of victims called 9/11 Families United, called the three plotters "cowards" and invoked the memory of those they killed as well as the relatives who have died while awaiting justice.
"They were cowards when they planned the attack," she said. "And they're cowards today."
While Strada notes that many families just want to see the men admit guilt, many others want them to face trial proceedings.
"For me personally, I wanted to see a trial," she said. "And they just took away the justice I was expecting – a trial and the punishment."
Meanwhile, other relatives of family members have taken in the news with quiet resignation, including Patrick White, cousin of Louis Nacke II, a passenger on United 93 – the flight where passengers attempted to take back control of the plane from the hijackers, causing it to crash in Shanksville rather than into either the White House or the Capitol building.
"I've made my peace with it," said White, who added that "life in prison along with an admission of guilt that they were complicit in [the] murder of loved ones" was what he was hoping would come out of the trials anyway.
Watch this clip from Newsmax featuring Bernard Kerik, who served as New York City's police commissioner during 9/11, discussing how the attack's plotters should not be immune to death penalty sentences.
This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
Bombshell court filing claims that some 9/11 hijackers were CIA assets.
Biden fights 9/11 victims in court to protect Taliban cash.
Sources include:
Please contact us for more information.
