the Biden administration A federal appeals court is seeking an injunction to temporarily block a plea agreement with three detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, including September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, that would see the defendants avoid the death penalty.
The three inmates are scheduled to submit their pleas early Friday at the military prison.
On New Year's Eve, the Military Court of Appeal overturned the ruling Secretary of Defense Lloyd AustinTrying to block the deal between military prosecutors and defense attorneys, saying Austin doesn't have the ability to revoke plea agreements.
Specifically, the court's opinion said that the plea agreements reached by military prosecutors and defense attorneys were valid and enforceable and that Austin exceeded his authority when he later tried to invalidate them.
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Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, organizer of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks (HO/AFP via Getty Images/File)
“The defendants are accused of committing the most horrific criminal act on American soil in modern history – the September 11 terrorist attacks,” the government says in its plea this week.
“The military commission judge intends to enforce pretrial plea agreements that will deprive the government and the American people of a public trial as to the guilt of the defendants and the possibility of the death penalty, despite the fact that the Secretary of Defense has lawfully withdrawn these agreements,” the plea reads. “It will not be possible to repair the harm to the government and the public once the judge grants the motions, which he is scheduled to do at hearings beginning January 10, 2025.”
The appeal also noted that once the military commission accepted the guilty plea, there was unlikely to be a way back to the status quo.
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Watchtower at Detention Camp VI at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon/File)
“The government and the public will lose the opportunity to hold a public trial as to the guilt of the defendants and to seek the death penalty against three men accused of committing a heinous act of mass murder that left thousands of people dead and shocked the nation and nation.” The world,” she continued. “The government is likely to prevail on the merits of its petition for an injunction and prohibition, but that will be a Pyrrhic victory unless this court first issues a stay of the military commission's proceedings, at least with respect to enforcement of the withdrawn order. Pretrial agreements and admission of defendants' motions, so that this court can decide the merits of the government's motion.”
Plea deal in Long term condition This decision was implemented against the terrorists over the summer, and was approved by the senior official in the military commission at Guantanamo.
A number of September 11 victims and American politicians have condemned the plea deals.
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Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba (AP Photo/Alex Brandon/File)
“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have weaponized Ministry of Justice “To go after their political opponents, but they are making a sweet deal with the 9/11 terrorists,” J.D. Vance, now Vice President-elect, said at the time.
The Pentagon canceled the agreements in July.
“With immediate effect, and in the exercise of my authority, I withdraw from the three pretrial agreements I signed on July 31, 2024,” a letter from Austin said.
On Monday, the Biden administration announced the transfer of 11 Yemeni detainees, including two former bodyguards of Osama bin Laden, who were detained at Guantanamo Bay, to Cuba.
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President Biden (AP Photo/Manuel Bals Sinita/File)
All of the men were arrested following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and held for more than two decades without being charged or brought to trial.
The transfer was carried out as part of a covert operation in the early morning of Monday, days before Mohammed, the worst prisoner at Guantanamo, was scheduled to plead guilty to planning the September 11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in exchange for a life sentence instead of the prison. The New York Times reported that the man would face the death penalty.
The move has been in the works for almost three years after the initial plan to make the move in October 2023 faced opposition from Lawmakers in Congress.
Fox News Digital's Danielle Wallace and Luis Casiano contributed to this report.
