National Defense

Military Judge Breathes New Life Into Plea Deals For 9/11 Terrorists At Gitmo

JTF Guantanamo photo by U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Gino Reyes

A military judge ruled Wednesday that plea deals extended to three accused Sept. 11 terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay were valid, renewing the possibility that the defendants may be able to dodge the death penalty, The New York Times reported.

The Department of Defense (DoD) announced in late July that Convening Authority for Military Commissions Susan Escallier entered into pretrial deals with the three defendants — including suspected 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed — that would allow the alleged terrorists to avoid the death penalty in exchange for pleading guilty to the charges against them. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin subsequently intervened to nix the agreements following outcry from family members of 9/11 victims, but Col. Matthew N. McCall, a military judge, ruled Wednesday that Austin acted too late and exceeded his authority in doing so, according to the NYT.

9/11 Widow Slams Biden Admin’s ‘Outrageous’ Attempted Plea Deals For Gitmo Terroristshttps://t.co/B2RMi0HzrY

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 12, 2024

McCall stated that he would proceed with having Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi enter separate pleas, but he did not attach any timeline to the proceedings, according to the NYT. The plea deals that Austin moved to vacate are “enforceable contracts with the classic elements of offer, acceptance and consideration,” McCall said, adding that Escallier “possessed the legal authority” required to issue the deals.

Austin could have overseen the case himself, but he did not do so until after Escallier had authorized the pretrial agreements, McCall argued, according to the NYT. Austin has stated that he was traveling abroad when he heard of the plea deals and that the agreements came as a surprise to him, while the Biden White House tried to distance itself from the development.

“What the secretary of defense could not do, however, was delegate authority to Ms. Escallier, recognize her independent discretion, then reverse that discretion upon disagreeing with how that discretion was utilized,” McCall said, per the NYT. It is currently unclear if the federal government intends to appeal McCall’s decision.

While the full agreements are under seal, McCall noted that Mohammed and Hawsawi have language in their deals that their cases will go forward without the death penalty on the table if the government pulls out of the agreements, according to the NYT.

The DoD did not respond immediately to a request for comment.