Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that it entered into plea deals with men accused of attacking the nation on Sept. 11, 2001. Shortly after, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the deals had been withdrawn.
Following the announcements, reactions from various groups began rolling in.
For example, GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance – a former Marine – called the agreements a “sweetheart deal” during a Friday speech. U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-Ala), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, “demanded answers” from Austin about the deal Friday.
“I, along with much of our nation and Congress, are deeply shocked and angered by news that the terrorist mastermind and his associates who planned the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 innocent people, were offered a plea deal. Tragically, the news is a “gut punch” to many of the victims’ families,” he said, referring to Khalid Shaikh Mohammad.
According to the initial announcement, Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi had entered into pretrial agreements as of Wednesday.
“Convening Authority for Military Commissions Susan Escallier entered into the agreements with the accused, said the department,” Audacy reported. “Specific terms and conditions of the pretrial agreements were not available to the public.”
In a Friday memorandum for Escallier, Austin said: “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.”
According to CBS News, Austin’s move means that the death penalty is again on the table for the accused men.
Escallier was commissioned in the U.S. Army Signal Corps upon graduation from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1988 and she received her Juris Doctor from Ohio State University following her assignment with the 25th Infantry Division, per her military biography. Last September, The New York Times reported that she would be the new convening authority for the Sept. 11, U.S.S. Cole and Bali bombing cases at Guantánamo.
“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,” said Austin’s memo to her. “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.”
Responses to this new announcement came Saturday.
“By revoking a signed plea agreement, Secretary Austin has prevented a guilty verdict in the most important criminal case of the 21st century. This rash act also violates the law, and we will challenge it in court,” said the American Civil Liberties Union. “It’s stunning that Secretary Austin betrayed 9/11 family members seeking judicial finality while recklessly setting aside the judgment of his own prosecutors and the Convening Authority, who are actually steeped in the 9/11 case. Politics and command influence should play no role in this legal proceeding. Yet, Secretary Austin dishonored an agreement reached after years of hard work and painstaking consultation by all the parties involved.”
However, some of those who lost family during the attacks had a different perspective, according to 9/11 Families United.
“9/11 Families United today commended the decision announced Friday night by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin to revoke the plea deal for the mastermind and accomplices of the 9/11 attacks,” said the group. They said the plea deal was too lenient and said that Austin’s revocation was a relief.