US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has revoked a pre-trial agreement reached with men accused of plotting the 11 September terrorist attacks. In a memo on Friday, Mr Austin also said he was revoking the authority of the officer overseeing the military court who signed the agreement on Wednesday. The original deal, which would reportedly have spared the alleged attackers the death penalty, was criticised by some families of victims.
The memo named five defendants including the alleged ringleader of the plot, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, all of whom are held in Guantánamo Bay. The original deal named three men. “I have determined that, in light of the significance of the decision to enter into pre-trial agreements with the accused… responsibility for such a decision should rest with me as the superior authority,” Mr Austin wrote to Brig Gen Susan Escallier.
The White House said on Wednesday that it had played no role in the plea deal.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, often referred to as KSM, is alleged to have brought the idea of hijacking and flying planes into buildings to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. He was captured in Pakistan in 2003 along with Hawsawi, a Saudi who was an alleged fundraiser. Ali, a computer scientist and nephew of KSM, is accused of providing technical support to the 9/11 operation. Bin al-Shibh, a Yemeni, allegedly co-ordinated the attacks and had planned to be a hijacker but could not secure a US visa. Bin Attash, also a Yemeni, is accused of bombing the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000, which killed 17 sailors, and involvement in the 11 September attacks.
Several Republicans applauded the defense secretary for revoking the deal. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said the “Biden-Harris Administration is correct to reverse course,” which he said followed Republicans “launching investigations into this terrible plea deal.” “Now deliver long-awaited justice for 9/11 families,” he said.
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said the decision “exercised good command judgment.” “The previous plea deal would have sent absolutely the wrong signal to terrorists throughout the world,” he added.