The Biden Administration made a significant U-turn in the plea deal for the accused 9/11 terrorists on Friday.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revoked a proposed plea deal for the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks that triggered nationwide outrage.
Austin also relieved Brigadier General Susan K Escallier, the Biden official overseeing the case, from her duties.
The Secretary of Defense has withdrawn the life in prison plea agreement with the 9/11 defendants. Question for military procedure people: how is it possible this plea deal could have been agreed to without him knowing and/or signing off on it? Isn’t this super strange? pic.twitter.com/xd8WCRMXgx
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) August 3, 2024
Wow.
— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) August 3, 2024
NYT: “Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on Friday relieved the overseer of the war court at Guantánamo Bay and revoked a plea agreement reached earlier this week with the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and two alleged accomplices.”
🚨 #BREAKING: After MASSIVE backlash from families of 9/11 victims, the Dept. of Defense has REVOKED the plea deal for 9/11 masterminds and put the death penalty back on the table
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 3, 2024
WHY DID THIS “DEAL” EXIST TO BEGIN WITH? pic.twitter.com/qURy4wxun9
Just two days earlier, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi agreed to plead guilty to a slew of charges in exchange for removing the death penalty.
This means the death penalty is still on the table for the accused terrorists.
The move ignited fury among the families of the 3,000 murdered in the attacks and lawmakers, as Leah covered. Many ripped the Biden Administration for negotiating with terrorists, calling for “real justice” to be served.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) slammed the administration’s “cowardice,” calling it a disgrace. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said that the Biden Administration has “done the unthinkable.”
Meanwhile, military veterans called the proposed plea deal “devastating” and a “slap in the face.”