Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday withdrew plea deals that would have vacated the death sentences of three inmates accused of helping plot the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Austin is news release He believes that given the importance of the case, responsibility for what happens to prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay “should rest with me as the higher authority under the Military Commissions Act of 2009.”
The Pentagon announced earlier this week that it had reached agreements with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Mohammed Saleh Mubarak bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam Al Hawsawi. Under the plea agreements, the three will each receive life sentences in prison.
Retired Brigadier General Susan K. Escalier signed the pretrial agreement on Wednesday.
“I am exercising my authority to immediately revoke the three pretrial agreements signed on July 31, 2024,” the defense secretary wrote in a memo on Friday. First reported Note.
Judge Escalier’s approval of the plea agreement drew backlash from some of the victims’ families, the New York City shooter and prominent Republican lawmakers.
Some critics say the deal will prevent the public from knowing what really happened nearly 23 years ago. Republicans have aimed their criticism at President Biden and Vice President Harris, even though the White House has said it was not involved in the negotiations.
Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to Austin on Friday seeking an explanation for the plea deal. Rogers said he was “deeply shocked” by the agreement and called it a “devastating blow” to the victim’s family.
