As Sarah covered yesterday, the 9/11 plea deal is off. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin essentially tore up the deal and relieved the overseer of the war court at Guantánamo Bay. Leah covered the initial agreement earlier this week:
Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and two accomplices—Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi—agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy and murder charges in exchange for a life sentence, eliminating the possibility of a death penalty trial at Guantanamo Bay, according to The New York Times.
It's par for the course regarding this administration—what a mess. It once again dredges up a lingering question: who’s in charge? Since Biden quit the 2024 race, forced out by party bosses and big donors, the president has retreated into the bunker, delegating presidential authority to his cabinet secretaries, as he did with Mr. Blinken on Ukraine aid, and overall being unseen for days. We’re barreling toward another Middle East war, Iran is preparing some retaliatory strike for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and Joe is AWOL.
I know this sounds crazy, but it sort of sounds like there's a general lack of leadership across all levels of government and people are just doing whatever the fuck they want. https://t.co/ybKhv2FDfg
— John Ekdahl (@JohnEkdahl) August 3, 2024
FLASHBACK to last Thursday:
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) August 3, 2024
Asked about the US government’s “sweetheart” deal with 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, NSC Advisor Jake Sullivan: “We had no role in that process.” pic.twitter.com/pytDcKXSuR
This 9/11 deal fiasco shows that either the president didn’t know and is catching up, or he approved it but saw the polling and is backtracking quickly. Either way, the situation is inexcusable. It's not insane to say that we don't have a president right now.
When greeting the Americans freed from Russia at Andrews Air Force Base, the president seemed absolutely lost. Also, is Kamala running the show?
This is um weird.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) August 2, 2024
Greet families for a couple of minutes, then turn towards reporters, then stop talking and Kamala interrupts him.
Who is president right now? https://t.co/o6tZAdhKZ7
Joe Biden is gone.
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 2, 2024
Absolutely freaking gone.
This is pathetic. pic.twitter.com/X7ah3URMDB