House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., has stated that his committee will continue to investigate a scrapped plea deal involving the alleged terrorists behind the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attacks. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently revoked a controversial plea deal that would have removed the death penalty as an option for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammad and two other individuals awaiting trial in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The announcement followed investigations launched by House Republicans on the Armed Services and Oversight committees into the circumstances surrounding the plea agreement. Rogers expressed appreciation for Austin’s decision to reverse the plea deal but emphasized that it should never have happened and demanded answers on how it occurred.
Rogers wrote a letter to Austin demanding documents related to the plea deal, including all communications and agreements related to the terms and conditions of the plea agreements. He also requested records of communications throughout the Biden administration regarding the plea deal, which he described as “unconscionable.” The chairman emphasized that news of the plea deal was deeply shocking and angering to many, particularly the victims’ families. Rogers gave the Defense Department a deadline to comply with his requests, and the terms of the deal, which reportedly took the death penalty off the table, were never disclosed.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, and families of the victims, as well as lawmakers, expressed outrage at the possibility that those who planned the attack might not face full prosecution. The agreement to remove the death penalty was met with heavy criticism, leading to its revocation after Austin relieved the official responsible for signing off on the agreement and assumed control himself. The defense secretary did not provide an explanation for why he had not intervened before the plea deals were finalized and released to the public. The Department of Defense declined to comment on Austin’s decision.
In response to the abrupt reversal of the plea deal, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., announced a parallel investigation into the matter. The committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Biden-Harris administration’s decision to revoke the deal. The move to withdraw from the pretrial agreements signed on July 31, 2024, was met with praise from victims’ groups and demands for justice from Republicans. The decision by Austin to rescind the deal was seen as a step towards holding those responsible for the 9/11 attacks accountable and ensuring that justice is served for the victims and their families.
The developments surrounding the scrapped plea deal with the alleged terrorists behind the Sept. 11 attacks have sparked widespread debate and scrutiny. The House Armed Services Committee’s ongoing investigation, along with efforts from the House Oversight Committee, are focused on uncovering the circumstances that led to the agreement being reached and subsequently revoked. The decision to remove the death penalty as a potential consequence for the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks has raised significant concerns and prompted calls for transparency and accountability in the handling of such critical legal matters.
