Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was surprised by the news that a deal had been reached between prosecutors and the mastermind behind the September 11 attacks, along with two others.
“This is not something that was discussed with the secretary,” Defense Department spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters at a press conference on Monday. “I was not aware that the prosecution or defense would be amenable to the terms of the plea agreement.”
The Biden administration withdrew from the agreement following public anger and indignation from the victims’ families.
Philadelphia mayor’s social media video leaks sparks speculation about Kamala Harris’ VP candidacy
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee in which he withdraws plea agreements between the government and three terrorists who plotted the September 11 attacks. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Senath/File)
“He believes the family and the American people deserve the opportunity to see a trial by military commission in this case,” Singh said.
Austin withdrew from the agreement last week after prosecutors agreed to move forward with a deal to vacate the death sentences of 9/11 terrorism mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his associates Walid Mohammed Saleh Mubarak bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi.
The defendants are being held at the military facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“I am exercising my authority to immediately revoke the three pretrial agreements you signed on July 31, 2024,” the letter from Austin states.
According to the New York Post, the decision was made by Susan Escalier, a retired brigadier general and senior Pentagon official whom Austin appointed to the Office of Military Commissions (OMC).
Lawmakers, families of 9/11 victims react to plea deal with terrorists: ‘A slap in the face’
Suspected al-Qaida terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is shown in this photo released by the FBI in Washington, DC, on October 10, 2001. Mohammed was arrested at his home in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. On October 21, 2003, it was reported that U.S. authorities believe Mohammed killed Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan. (Getty Images)
There is no explanation as to why this was not resolved earlier, before the deal was approved and made public.
The agreement shocked families of 9/11 victims and lawmakers who had criticized Biden for going soft on terrorists.
“They want to get this out of their business because it’s an election year,” Terry Strada, national chair of the 9/11 Families Coalition, told Fox News Digital. “They (the terrorists) committed this heinous crime against America. They should have been charged, tried and punished. Since when have those responsible for the murders been in charge?”
National security adviser Jake Sullivan said the Biden administration had no involvement in the now-defunct plea deal.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke at a regular briefing held in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC on August 1. (Brendan Smiarowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Click here to get the FOX News app
“This is not something we were involved in,” Jean-Pierre told reporters last week.
“We had no involvement in that process. Neither the president nor the vice president nor myself nor the White House were involved,” Sullivan said at a press conference Thursday, “and we were only informed yesterday, the same day it was publicly announced, that this pretrial agreement had been approved by the convening authorities.”
