Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) criticized the Biden administration for the plea deals it struck with three inmates accused of helping plan the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
“Just today we heard that the Biden-Harris Department of Justice made a deal with al-Qaida terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to avoid the death penalty. It was reported today,” Vance, the Republican nominee and former President Trump’s running mate, told the crowd at the rally on Wednesday. Election rally in Glendale, Ariz. “As someone who joined the Marines after 9/11, this is ridiculous but not surprising.
“Think about where we’ve gotten to. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have used the Justice Department as a weapon to go after their political opponents, while they make sweet deals with 9/11 terrorists,” he continued. “We need a president who will kill terrorists, not negotiate with them.”
The agreement was reached on Wednesday between Mohammed, Walid Mohammed Saleef Mubarak bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam Al Hawsawi, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. Announced in a release.
The three were jointly indicted along with Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Ramzi bin al-Shibh in 2008 and 2012 for their alleged roles in the 9/11 attacks, when the terrorist group al-Qaida hijacked two planes and crashed them into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, killing around 3,000 people.
The Pentagon did not provide further details about the deal. The New York Times The three face life sentences but not the death penalty, according to reports.
The reported plea deal was also criticized by other Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
“The Biden-Harris Administration has done the unthinkable: It has agreed to plea deals with the mastermind of the September 11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and two of his accomplices,” Johnson said. I wrote in the post On social platform X.
McConnell echoed that sentiment, calling the decision “cowardly.”
“The Biden-Harris administration’s cowardice on terrorism is a national disgrace,” he said. I wrote to X“Plea deals with terrorists, including those behind the 9/11 attacks, are an abdication of the government’s responsibility to protect America and deliver justice.”
National Security Council spokesman Sean Sabet said in a statement to The Hill on Thursday that the White House had no involvement in the plea deal.
“The White House learned yesterday that the military commissions convening body has made an independent decision to enter into pretrial agreements negotiated by military prosecutors with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other 9/11 defendants. The President and the White House had no involvement in this process. The President has directed his team to consult with Department of Defense officials and attorneys on this matter as appropriate,” Sabet said.
“Since taking office, President Biden has had an unwavering focus on terrorism and has repeatedly directed his government to take action to protect the American people from terrorism as we continue to work alone and with partners to disrupt and degrade terrorist networks around the world,” he continued.
Updated 11:42 a.m.
