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The Biden administration is asking a federal appeals court for an injunction to temporarily block a plea deal with three detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, including 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, that would allow defendants avoid the death penalty.
The three prisoners had to present their petitions already on Friday at the military prison.
On New Year’s Eve, a military appeals court struck down Defense Secretary Lloyd Austinthe effort to block the deal between military prosecutors and defense attorneys, saying Austin did not have the power to cancel plea deals.
Specifically, the court opinion said the plea deals reached by military prosecutors and defense attorneys were valid and enforceable and that Austin exceeded his authority when he later tried to overturn them.
DEFENSE COURT OF MILITARY APPEALS RULES SEC AUSTIN CANNOT NULLIFY 9/11 AGREEMENTS
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks (HO/AFP via Getty Images/File)
In its appeal this week, the government says, “Respondents are accused of perpetrating the most egregious criminal act on American soil in modern history: the terrorist attacks of September 11.”
“The military commission judge intends to enforce pretrial plea agreements that will deprive the government and the American people of a public trial of the respondents’ guilt and the possibility of capital punishment, despite the fact that the Secretary of Defense has legally withdrawn these agreements,” the appeal said. 10 January 2025”.
The appeal also noted that once the military commission accepts the guilty pleas, there is likely no way to return to the status quo.
BIDEN ADMIN SENDS 11 GUANTANAMO DETENTES TO OMAN FOR RESETTLEMENT
The control tower of the Camp VI detention center at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon/File)
“The government and the public will lose the opportunity for a public trial as to the guilt of the respondents and to seek the death penalty against three men accused of a heinous act of mass murder that caused the deaths of thousands of people and shocked the nation and the world,” he continued. “The government is likely to prevail on the merits of its petition for a writ of mandamus and prohibition, but it will be a Pyrrhic victory unless this Court first orders a stay of the military commission proceedings, at least as to application of the withdrawal. prior agreements and accepting the allegations of the defendants, until this Court can decide the merits of the government’s request.”
The declaration agreement in long term case against the terrorists was attacked during the summer and approved by the highest official of the Guantánamo military commission.
Several 9/11 victims and US politicians have condemned the plea deals.
BIDEN WHITE HOUSE TO SEND $1.25 BILLION IN ARMS AID TO UKRAINE AHEAD OF TRUMP TRANSITION: REPORT
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba (AP Photo/Alex Brandon/File)
“Joe Biden, Kamala Harris have armed Department of Justice to go after their political opponents, but they are making a sweetheart deal with the 9/11 terrorists,” Vice President-elect JD Vance said at the time.
The Pentagon revoked the agreements in July.
“Effective immediately, in exercise of my authority, I am withdrawing from the three pretrial agreements you entered into on July 31, 2024,” a letter from Austin states.
On Monday, the Biden administration announced the transfer of 11 Yemeni detainees, including two former bodyguards of Osama bin Laden, who were being held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
JUDGE RESTORES CONTROVERSIAL 9/11 TERRORIST PLEA AGREEMENTS INVOLVING KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMED: REPORT
President Biden (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta/Archive)
All the men were captured after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and were held for more than two decades without being charged or tried.
The transfer was carried out as part of a covert operation in the early hours of Monday morning, days before Mohammed, Guantanamo’s most notorious prisoner, pleaded guilty to masterminding the 9/11 attacks that killing nearly 3,000 people in exchange for life in prison instead of facing a trial with the death penalty, the New York Times reported.
The move had been in the works for about three years after an initial plan to carry out the transfer in October 2023 faced opposition from congressional legislators.
Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
