The Biden-Harris administration struck a plea deal allowing three al Qaeda members allegedly involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to avoid the death penalty, the Defense Department announced Wednesday.
“The Convening Authority for Military Commissions, Susan Escallier, has entered into pretrial agreements with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, three of the co-accused in the 9/11 case,” a Pentagon press release reads.
According to the New York Post, the former is the “accused principal architect” of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, while the latter two are “alleged co-conspirators.” The three suspected terrorists have been detained by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba since 2003.
While the Pentagon declined to provide details about the pre-trial agreements, letters sent to 9/11 victims’ families by the agency’s Office of Military Commissions and subsequently obtained by the Post show the deals will allow the accused perpetrators to avoid the death penalty.
“In exchange for removal of the death penalty as a possible punishment, these three Accused have agreed to plead guilty to all of the charged offenses, including the murder of the 2,976 people listed in the charge sheet,” Rear Adm. Aaron C. Rugh, OMC’s chief prosecutor, reportedly wrote.
Rugh was nominated for the position by Biden in May 2022 and confirmed by the Senate later that month.
“I am very disappointed. We waited patiently for a long time. I wanted the death penalty — the government has
