Sec. of Defense revokes agreements with 9/11 terrorists after backlash from victims' families

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued an order Friday night that effectively revokes plea deals initially extended to three alleged 9/11 facilitators and conspirators after a massive backlash from victims' relatives and the general public.

The declaration agreements would have allowed the three Guantanamo Bay prisoners, including alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, to avoid the death penalty in exchange for pleading guilty to all charges, a first that several family members of 9/11 victims strongly objected in interviews with the Daily Caller News Foundation before Austin reversed course. Austin said that “responsibility for this decision should fall on [him]” rather than subordinate entities given the significance of the government taking the death penalty off the table for terrorists who allegedly facilitated the murder of nearly 3,000 innocent people.

“For me and for many of the families, this is a very welcome change in their position. The biggest fear I had, and many family members had, was what could happen to these three people without the death penalty,” said Terry Strada, whose husband died on 9/11 just days after of the birth of their third child, said the DCNF following Austin's order. The death penalty is the right thing for them because of the crime they committed. So I'm very happy to know that the Pentagon has stepped in and is doing the right thing.”

Before Austin's decision to effectively revoke the plea deals, Strada told the DCNF that the pretrial deals felt like a “betrayal.”

Austin 9-11 Order of Justification Offers for Nick Pope on Scribd

In addition to effectively withdrawing the plea deals, Austin also relieved the Guantánamo court supervisor in his order, seconds in the New York Times.

“We hope these animals get the death penalty. I can't understand why we would ever be negotiating with terrorists,” Brinley Maloney, whose husband was killed on 9/11, told the DCNF in response to Austin's decision to intervene. “Hopefully, politicians don't make this decision because it's election season. All Americans should be united in demanding accountability and justice.”

Before Austin intervened, Maloney told the DCNF that the pretrial settlements were a “disappointment to my family and all the families of 9/11.” Maloney's daughter, who was a toddler when her father died, told the DCNF that the deals were “disgusting and incredibly disappointing” before Austin took them back.

The Biden White House distanced himself of the plea deals before Austin stepped in to revoke them, with a National Security Council spokesman telling the DCNF on Thursday that he learned of the plea deals after they were reached and that “the president and the White House they had no role in this process.” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre as well he said reporters that the White House did not play a role in the plea deal process during a press conference Thursday.

Republican deputies i lots of in the media criticized the plea deals as an embarrassment before Austin's decision to rescind the deals.

Frank Siller, the founder of the Tunnel Foundation in Torres from whom brother — a firefighter — died on Sept. 11, likened the deals to a “slap in the face” in a statement shared with the DCNF ahead of Austin's decision to effectively put the death penalty back on the table.

“After 9/11, we all said, 'Never forget.' Well, we forgot. And not only did we forget, but we don't care anymore,” Don Arias, a retired Air Force lieutenant whose brother was killed on 9/11. he said The New York Times before Austin intervened. “A lot of people just want this to be over.”

Joe Connor, who lost a cousin on 9/11 after his father was killed by Puerto Rican terrorists, also broke plea deals before they were revoked.

“You know, after seeing this, I'm very afraid that we won't get justice for my cousin and the thousands of people killed that day and their families. My father's terrorists, the FALN, were released. The Clintons and Obama they were given leniency,” Connor he said Fox News. “It's all politics, and then I was worried that these guys would somehow end up in a U.S. prison. I'm worried that somebody is going to use politics to free these guys.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the Defense Department referred the DCNF to Austin's order when reached for comment.

Latest messages from Nick Pope (see everything)

We have zero tolerance for comments that contain violence, racism, profanity, profanity, doxing, or rude behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it, click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for engaging with us in a fruitful conversation.