Defense secretary reverses 9/11 plea deal, and House Armed Services chairman responds.
The Pentagon has withdrawn a plea deal for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, leaving Republicans demanding answers.
House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., stated that his committee will persist in investigating the abandoned plea agreement with the suspected terrorists responsible for the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attacks.
On Friday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the revocation of a controversial plea deal that would have removed the death penalty as a possibility for the 9/11 masterminds Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, who are currently being tried in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. This decision was made after both the House Armed Services and Oversight committees launched separate investigations into the circumstances surrounding the plea agreement.
"Secretary Austin listened to my concerns and reversed the decision, but I still expect him to provide HASC with answers on how this happened, Rogers said on Saturday."
On Thursday, the chairman demanded from Austin all documents and communications related to the plea deal, including any agreements or side-deals with any party concerning the terms and conditions of the plea agreements.
The GOP committee chairman demanded documents detailing all interactions between the Biden administration and those involved in the plea deal, which he deemed "unfair."
The terrorist mastermind and his associates who planned the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, which killed nearly 3000 innocent people, were offered a plea deal, leaving many shocked and angered, including Rogers and much of our nation and Congress.
"Sadly, the news has left many of the victims' families feeling devastated."
The Defense Department was given a deadline of Aug. 23 by Rogers to fulfill his request.
The OMC informed three relatives of 9/11 victims that the death penalty was removed from the deal's terms and conditions, according to the New York Post.
On Sept. 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 people were killed in the worst terror attack on U.S. soil, leaving families of the victims, representative groups, and lawmakers bewildered and furious that those responsible might not be fully prosecuted.
The military commission agreement was rescinded after Austin relieved the official in charge and assumed their authority.
The secretary wrote a memo on Friday stating that effective immediately, they are withdrawing from the three pretrial agreements signed on July 31, 2024.
The defense secretary did not provide a reason for not intervening before the plea deals were made public. The Department of Defense refused to comment on Austin's decision.
On Friday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., revealed a parallel investigation into the plea deal in a letter to President Biden. The committee did not respond to a request for comment on the Biden-Harris administration's sudden reversal.
Planet Chronicle Digital's Elizabeth Elkind and Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
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