First appeared on FOX: A top House of Representatives committee has launched an investigation into plea deals struck by the US government with three terrorists allegedly behind the September 11, 2001, attacks.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday requesting documents related to the plea agreement, including “all documents and communications, including any stipulations, covenants, agreements, side transactions, or mutually-made, related, conditioned, or interlocking agreements with the parties regarding the terms of the plea agreement.”
Rogers also demanded records of communications from the Biden administration related to the plea deal, calling it “unfair.”
“I, along with many in the nation and Congress, am deeply shocked and outraged by the news that plea agreements have been offered to the terrorist mastermind and his associates who planned the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and killed nearly 3,000 innocent people,” Rogers wrote in the letter, which was first obtained by Fox News Digital.
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House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (left) demands more information about the plea deals for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other 9/11 defendants. (Getty Images)
“Sadly, this news will come as a shock to many of the victims’ families.”
This came after the Pentagon announced that the three alleged masterminds of the Sept. 11 attacks, who are awaiting trial in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had entered into pretrial agreements with the U.S. government.
Details of the plea agreements against Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Walid Mohammed Saleh Mubarak bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam Al Hawsawi were not immediately released.
The three are accused of providing training, funding and other support to the al-Qaida hijackers who crashed passenger planes into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, some 23 years ago.
The other plane, believed to be aimed at the US Capitol, crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew overpowered the terrorists. All on board were killed.
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The Pentagon Building in Arlington, Virginia, Friday, April 21, 2023. (Tom Brenner/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“It is outrageous that the Biden-Harris Administration would approve this plea deal. Secretary of State, you are the Cabinet member with ultimate oversight of the Office of Military Commissions. Your department approved the plea deal with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his cohort of killers,” Rogers wrote Thursday.
“Deals like this give hope to terrorists around the world that America is not going to hold the worst criminals accountable for their heinous crimes. In short, this deal demonstrates a willingness to negotiate with terrorists who knowingly harm American citizens.”
In response to questions from Fox News Digital, the Pentagon declined to comment on the letter, saying, “As with all congressional communications, the Department of Defense responds directly to Members of Congress.”
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The Rogers investigation comes as the House Oversight Committee launched a parallel investigation into the plea deal, with Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) sending a letter to President Biden on Friday.
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Brett Eagleson, executive director of 9/11 Justice, a grassroots group made up of victims’ families, said in a statement Thursday that he was “deeply troubled” by the plea deal.
“While we acknowledge the decision to avoid the death penalty, our primary concern remains obtaining information from these individuals. These plea agreements should not perpetuate a system of closed-door agreements where critical information is hidden without giving victims’ families the opportunity to know the full truth,” Eagleson said.
