A 9/11 terrorist attack suspect drew outrage from lawmakers on Monday after he pleaded with a Virginia judge to be sent to France from a federal supermax prison to avoid the possibility of President Donald Trump ordering his execution.
Zacarias Moussaoui’s letter to Alexandria Federal Court Judge Leonie Brinkema noted that the so-called “20th hijacker” fears a future Trump administration could lead to his swift demise.
In a letter sent from ADX Florence in Colorado, Moussaoui claimed he had previously committed to “cooperating” with U.S. authorities in countering al-Qaida operatives such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and asked Colonel Brinkema to issue the transfer order.
“Rather, the judge may agree that, although the likelihood is low, former US President Donald Trump would sentence me to death by executive order if he were re-elected,” the terrorist wrote.
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Donald Trump and French-born Al-Qaeda terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui. (Getty Images)
In a lengthy handwritten letter outlining his case, he cited presidential power and the Trump Justice Department’s decision to drop charges against now-retired Gen. Michael Flynn after he pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators.
Critics argue that France’s strong opposition to the death penalty posed a major obstacle for the United States in 2001 when Earth Day co-founder Ira Einhorn sought extradition from France to Philadelphia to stand trial for the murder of his girlfriend.
Moussaoui’s letter depicts a marked change from his previous attitude, as his 2006 trial was riddled with insults and courtroom rage, and when, after learning he had escaped the death penalty by refusing to take the stand, he retorted, “You will never receive my blood. May God curse you all.”
In court he also claimed, but later retracted, that he should have hijacked a fifth plane and crashed it into the White House.
In the letter, the terrorists further wrote that they believe there is still time to discuss the transfer with French authorities before the 2025 presidential inauguration, adding: “I hope that as soon as the judge and the court deem it appropriate, they will issue an order and grant my petition for another request.”
The Clerk’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia confirmed to Fox News Digital that Brinkema’s office had received such a letter, a copy of which was first released Legal Rebellion Website.
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Smoke billows from the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001. (Robert Giroux/Getty Images)
In response, 12 U.S. senators sent letters to both President Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland urging them to ignore the plea.
“We have been informed that Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person ever convicted in a United States court for his role in the devastating terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, has requested the United States Department of Justice to transfer him to his native France to serve the remainder of his life sentence,” the letter said.
“This convicted terrorist’s preferences for where he serves his sentence for his heinous crimes should not be given any consideration. We demand that you swiftly deny his extradition request and force him to spend the rest of his pitiful life incarcerated in the country he and his fellow terrorists attacked 23 years ago,” the letter, spearheaded by Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida, continues.
Republican Sen. John Hoeven, who also signed the letter, added that Moussaoui and his co-conspirators “committed heinous crimes against our country and caused irreparable harm and grief to the victims and their families.”
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“The Biden administration must reject this demand and allow him to continue serving his trial in the United States,” Hoeven said.
Another signatory, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), said terrorists involved in 9/11 should never leave a U.S. prison.
“Under no circumstances should Zacarias Moussaoui be allowed to serve his sentence in France,” Blackburn said.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) agreed, saying President Biden and the Department of Justice “should unequivocally reject this request. Moussaoui committed heinous acts against our nation on 9/11 and he should remain imprisoned in the country that attacked him.”
Other signatories included Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-Va.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), and Pete Ricketts (R-Nebraska), as well as Idaho Republicans James Risch and Mike Crapo.
Moussaoui was originally arrested in August 2001 on suspicion of attempting to take flight lessons and is also accused of receiving a $14,000 wire transfer from 9/11 conspirator Ramzi bin al-Shib, who never entered the United States because his visa application was denied.
A Justice Department spokesman said it is policy not to discuss prisoner transfer requests or whether they are pending.
But the spokesman added that Moussaoui is serving a life sentence for “terrorism offences” and that the Justice Department plans to “serve this life sentence in U.S. custody.”
The White House did not respond to a separate request for comment.
