The Biden administration successfully blocked accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed from entering a guilty plea on Thursday (January 9, 2025), postponing a deal that would spare him from the risk of execution for the September 11, 2001, attacks orchestrated by al-Qaida.
This development is the latest in the ongoing efforts of the U.S. military and successive administrations to bring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to justice for his role in planning one of the most devastating attacks in American history. It delays an attempt to conclude over two decades of military prosecution plagued by legal and logistical challenges.
A three-judge appeals panel decided to postpone Mohammed’s scheduled guilty plea in a military commission courtroom at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
In a surprising move, the Biden administration is seeking to void a plea agreement that had been negotiated by the Defense Department with Mohammed and two other co-defendants in the 9/11 case.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is accused of masterminding the plot to crash hijacked planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people. Another hijacked plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.
Some family members of the nearly 3,000 victims had gathered in Guantanamo to witness Mohammed accepting responsibility for his actions in one of the darkest chapters of American history.
Elizabeth Miller, who lost her father in the attacks, expressed disappointment at the delay, believing that the plea agreements offer closure for the families. On the other hand, Gordon Haberman, who lost his daughter in the World Trade Center, expressed support for a full trial for the defendants.
The appeals panel clarified that their decision to postpone the plea was temporary, allowing further consideration of the arguments before a final ruling is made.
The court set the next steps for January 22, extending the legal battle into the upcoming Trump administration.
Defense lawyers had aimed to finalize the plea agreements before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20. It remains uncertain whether the Trump administration will intervene in the military commission’s proceedings.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been leading the effort to overturn the plea deals, arguing that the decision on the death penalty for such a serious crime should be made by the defense secretary.
The defense lawyers claim that the government’s attempt to discard the agreement is part of a pattern of mishandling the case over the past two decades. They argue that the agreement is legally binding and cannot be revoked after the fact.
This disagreement has created tension between the Biden administration and the military officials overseeing the 9/11 case.
The plea deal, approved by military prosecutors and the Pentagon’s senior official for Guantanamo in July, stipulated life sentences without parole for Mohammed and his co-defendants, along with providing answers to any remaining questions from the victims’ families.
Legal and logistical challenges have delayed the 9/11 case since charges were first filed against Mohammed 17 years ago. The use of torture on the defendants during their time in CIA custody has complicated the legal proceedings.
Military prosecutors informed the families earlier this year that a plea deal had been approved, presenting it as the best path towards closure and justice. However, Austin announced in August that he was overturning the agreement, leading to the current legal battle.
Mohammed’s attorneys argue that Austin’s intervention is a result of his lack of oversight over the Pentagon official in charge of Guantanamo.
The Justice Department contends that accepting the guilty pleas would deny the government the opportunity for a public trial and the chance to seek capital punishment for the heinous crime committed on September 11.
Published – January 10, 2025 07:27 am IST
