Biden Administration Requests Court to Halt 9/11 Plea Hearing
The Department of Justice has contended that allowing the plea agreements would inflict ‘irreparable harm’ on both the government and the public.
The Biden administration is appealing to a federal court to pause a plea deal that would let the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and two purported accomplices escape the death penalty.
Although the specifics of the deals remain confidential, the motion filed on Tuesday indicates that Mohammed and his two co-defendants, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, are expected to plead guilty to seven charges, including murder, conspiracy, hijacking aircraft, and terrorism. Out of these, five charges carry the possibility of the death penalty.
In return for their guilty pleas, the three men would likely receive life sentences, thereby avoiding a trial that could lead to capital punishment.
The U.S. Department of Justice asserted in its motion that granting the pleas would result in “irreparable harm” for Americans who wish to prosecute them for the attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives.
“The government and the public will lose the opportunity to … pursue capital punishment against three individuals charged with a horrific act of mass murder that resulted in the deaths of thousands and shocked both the nation and the world,” it cautioned.
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The Department argued that the defendants would not face significant harm from a postponement of their hearing, especially since the prosecution has been ongoing since 2012 and any plea agreements would still likely lead to life sentences for them.
“A brief delay to allow this Court to assess the merits of the government’s appeal in this pivotal case will not significantly harm the respondents,” the petition states.
Mohammed is alleged to have presented Osama bin Laden with a series of major schemes targeting the United States, where he had studied.
Bin Attash purportedly trained two hijackers involved in the September 11 attacks, while Hawsawi is believed to have managed the financial aspects of the operation. Both were detained in Pakistan in 2003 and held in secret CIA facilities prior to their transfer to Guantanamo.
Legal Challenges
The case against these three individuals has encountered numerous delays, primarily centered around concerns regarding the fairness of their trials due to their prior experiences of CIA torture.
While the plea agreements promise a quicker resolution to the case, they have also drawn criticism from the victims’ families and several lawmakers, such as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Vice President-elect JD Vance, who have denounced the agreements as a “sweetheart deal for 9/11 terrorists.”
This Dec. 8, 2008 courtroom drawing by artist Janet Hamlin and reviewed by the U.S. military, depicts Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, center, and co-defendant Walid Bin Attash, left, during a pre-trial conference at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. Janet Hamlin, Pool/AP Photo
Even if Austin had possessed such authority, the panel remarked that his intervention was too late.
When questioned at a press briefing regarding his attempt to cancel the plea deals, Austin stated that he believed the significance of this case required his direct involvement as the defense secretary.
