Federal attorneys make final push to stall plea deal for 9/11 mastermind

The Department of Justice petitioned a federal appeals court to stop Friday’s military court proceedings where the plea deals for 9/11 terrorists are expected to be finalized. Prosecutors doubled down on their initial Tuesday motion to stop the proceedings with a Thursday reply asking the appellate court to honor Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s directive to withdraw the pleas entirely. The additional filing came less than a day after attorneys for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed filed a motion asking for the scheduled plea proceedings to go forward.

Mohammed and two terror co-defendants, Walid Bin 'Attash and Mustafa al Hawsawi, agreed in July to plead guilty to their roles in planning and executing the 2001 terror attacks on the condition that the death penalty be removed as a sentencing option. The deals sparked public outrage and Austin soon revoked them. However, a military court revived the deals in November by ruling that Austin had no authority to withdraw from the deal brokered by the prosecutor he appointed. An additional military ruling in December officially reinstated the plea deals allowing the terrorists to avoid the death penalty.

What were the defense team’s arguments in favor of the plea deals? Mohammed’s team argued that the deals offered the first chance at closure in the decades-long cases. The plea deals will also allow the families and loved ones of 9/11 victims to have their day in court, the defense alleged. The sentencing proceedings triggered by the plea deals will be open to the public and allow a military jury to hear victim testimony and examine evidence, the defense filing noted. The deal would allow victims the chance to directly question Mohommad and the co-defendants, who will be forced to give full and truthful answers or lose the agreement, the defense filing added.

What were the government’s arguments against the deals? Allowing defendants to take plea deals would deprive the American public of trial justice for the most egregious criminal act in America’s modern history, the DOJ argued. Prosecutors also described the military rulings reinstating the plea deals as erroneous. The Military Commissions Act of 2009 clearly endows the defense secretary with the power to withdraw pretrial agreements, the prosecutors argued. 

Dig deeper:  Read Lauren Canterberry’s original report about officials first considering the controversial plea deals back in 2023. Also, read Emma Freire’s report in WORLD Magazine about how 9/11 turned the FBI into a political weapon.