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Foxnews.com: 9/11 mastermind, 2 others strike plea deals while awaiting trial; families of victims 'very disappointed'

One of the suspects includes Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who played a large role in the terror attacks

Louis Casiano By Louis Casiano Fox News
Published July 31, 2024 5:59pm EDT | Updated July 31, 2024 6:59pm EDT

Prosecutors have agreed to plea agreements with three of the masterminds of the Sept. 11 terror attacks who were awaiting trial in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the Department of Defense (DOD) said Wednesday.

The Convening Authority for Military Commissions, Susan Escallier, entered into pretrial agreements with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, the DOD said.

The terms and conditions of the plea deals were not disclosed, but the terror suspects will be spared the death penalty, three relatives of 9/11 victims were told by the Office of Military Commissions (OMC), the New York Post reported.

The defendants are accused of providing training, financial support and other assistance to the 19 terrorists who hijacked passenger jets and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 11, 2001.

The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people in the worst terror attack on U.S. soil in American history. Loved ones of the victims expressed outrage upon hearing news of the deal.

Jim Smith, a retired police officer and husband of Moira Smith, the only female NYPD officer who died on 9/11, told the newspaper that "I feel like I was kicked."

"The prosecution and families have waited 23 years to have our day in court to put on the record what these animals did to our loved ones. They took that opportunity away from us," he said. "They committed the worst crime in the history of our country, they should receive the highest penalty."

"I am very disappointed. We waited patiently for a long time. I wanted the death penalty — the government has failed us," Daniel D’Allara, whose twin brother, John, was an NYPD cop killed in the attacks, told The Post.

In September, President Biden rejected a plea deal that would have excused the 9/11 architects and co-conspirators from potentially facing the death penalty.

The conditions the prisoners wanted the DOD to accept included a guarantee they wouldn't serve their sentences in solitary confinement and allowing them to eat and pray with other prisoners in Guantánamo Bay. They also wanted a civilian-run program to treat brain disorders, sleep disorders, and gastrointestinal damage they say the CIA caused during interrogations prior to being transferred to Guantánamo Bay in 2006, according to a New York Times report at the time.

The three men, along with Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Ramzi Bin al Shibh, were initially charged jointly and arraigned on June 5, 2008, and then were again charged jointly and arraigned a second time on May 5, 2012, in connection with their alleged roles in the attacks, the DOD said.

They are slated to be sentenced in Guantánamo Bay on Aug. 5

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The terms and conditions of the plea deals were not disclosed,

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Originally posted by Loswsmith:
Look, I hate Biden as much as the next guy but to say "Biden Admin allows" in reference to this FUBARed circle jerk clusterfuck of a prosecution that has been going for 21 years since his capture March 1, 2003, is a stretch IMO.

This was the best they could get: have him admit guilt and go to prison a guilty man and die there, OR the other option was to punish via process for the next umpteen years until he dies of old age and is NEVER successfully prosecuted.

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Originally posted by uvahawk:
What I cannot understand is why these terrorists were created as legitimate combatants. As I recall, terrorists and combatants (i.e., insurgents) not fighting under a national flag, were not "entitled" to any legal considerations other than a summary court martial by the military after capture--under international law. This perversion of longstanding military law put us in this situation.

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Originally posted by tatortodd:
Should've died pumped full of the CIA's finest interrogation chemicals and hooked up to a car battery.

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Originally posted by Lefty Sig:
Put him in a U.S. prison, even a Supermax.

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Originally posted by Lefty Sig:
The prisoners will take care of him...