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WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday withdrew the plea deal for the three men accused of planning the 9/11 attacks. Austin announced the move in a letter addressed to Susan Escallier, the convening authority for military commissions, who had worked to negotiate the deal. "Effective immediately, I hereby withdraw your authority in the above-referenced case to enter into a pre-trial agreement and reserve such authority to myself," Austin said in the letter. Officials said on Wednesday that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi had reached plea agreements. The three men were expected to plead guilty to lesser charges that would prevent them from receiving the death penalty.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, Austin, Susan Escallier, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘ Attash, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi Organizations: WASHINGTON —, Friday

☆ Defense secretary abruptly revokes plea deal with alleged 9/11 mastermind KSM, co-conspirators
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Oren Liebermann | Evan Perez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin abruptly revoked a plea deal for the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks and his co-conspirators, and he relieved the overseer in charge after years of effort to reach an agreement to bring the cases to a close. Prosecutors in the case had been discussing the possibility of a plea deal for more than two years, which would have avoided a lengthy trial complicated by questions over the admissibility of evidence obtained during torture. The US had said it would seek the death penalty for Mohammed. US criminal courts for decades have dealt with high profile terror trials, including with death sentences, which Holder had authorized. “They were dealt a bad hand by political hacks and ideologues who lost faith in our justice system.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, Austin, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Bin ‘ Attash, Hawsawi –, Susan Escallier, ” Austin, Mohammed, ”, Brett Eagleson, Democratic Sen, Richard Blumenthal, ” Sen, Lindsey Graham, “, George W, Bush, Eric Holder, Barack Obama’s, Holder, ” Holder, Daniel Pearl, ideologues, CNN’s Manu Raju, Morgan Rimmer Organizations: CNN —, Pentagon, Prosecutors, Democratic, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, CNN, South Carolina Republican, Wall Street Journal Locations: Guantanamo, Pearl, Richard Blumenthal of, Manhattan, Pakistan

Eleven years ago, in 2013, Holder said that Mohammed and his associates would have been “on death row as we speak” had the case gone to federal court as he proposed. But he blamed Congress for blocking a federal trial that would have resulted in swifter justice. They were dealt a bad hand by the political hacks and those who lost faith in our justice system,” Holder said in a statement to NBC News on Thursday. “If my decision to try KSM and his confederates in the tested and effective federal court system had been followed they would be nothing more than a memory today,” Holder said. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he’s “long advocated that our federal court system is perfectly capable of conducting this kind of trial” and was well-suited to handling serious crimes.

Persons: Eric Holder, ”, Holder, ” Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘ Attash, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al, General Holder, Mohammed, ” Holder, KSM, “, ” Eric Holder, Chip Somodevilla, Rudy Giuliani —, Donald Trump’s, —, Giuliani, Tsarnaev, William Barr, Trump, George H.W, George H.W . Bush, hadn’t, ” Barr, he’d, he’s, Barr, Alexanda Amon Kotey, Joe Biden’s, Mitch McConnell, McConnell, Sen, Chris Coons, doesn’t, ” Coons, Richard Blumenthal, Conn, “ I’ve, ” Sen, Chris Van Hollen, Biden, Thom Tillis, I’m, ” Tillis, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton Organizations: WASHINGTON, Guantanamo, Pentagon, CIA, NBC, New York City, Prisons, Boston Marathon, Rockies, Republican, Trump, Justice Department, Islamic State, White, NBC News, House Locations: United States, Guantanamo, Manhattan, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, America, Pakistan, Caribbean, ADMAX Florence, Colorado, ”, George H.W ., ADMAX, Florence, Ky

☆ 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, 2 others charged in terror plot reach plea deals
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-31 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

In a file photo Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged Sept. 11 mastermind, is seen shortly after his capture during a raid in Pakistan Saturday March 1, 2003, in this photo obtained by the Associated Press. Accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and two other men charged with plotting the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks by al-Qaeda have agreed to plead guilty in the military commissions process, the Pentagon said Wednesday. The terms of the plea deals for the three men, who have been in custody since 2003, were not released, but they are expected to plead guilty to some charges, and potentially avoid death sentences as a result. The Office of Military Commission said that the defendants will enter their pleas as early as next week at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In addition to Mohammed, the other men expected to plead guilty are Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi.

Persons: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, Aaron Rugh Organizations: Associated Press, Pentagon, Military Commission, New York Times Locations: Pakistan, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

☆ US reaches plea deal with alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-31 | by ( Oren Liebermann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —The US has reached a plea deal with alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants, according to the Defense Department. Mohammed, often known as KSM, was captured in Pakistan in 2003 for his alleged involvement in the terror attacks. The US had said it would seek the death penalty for Mohammed. Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi have also reached plea agreements, according to the Pentagon. The men agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges in exchange for a life sentence instead of a death penalty, according to The New York Times.

Persons: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘ Attash, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi Organizations: CNN, Defense Department, Pentagon, The New York Times Locations: Pakistan

☆ Biden rejects conditions of plea deal for Sept. 11 attacks defendants
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The White House confirmed that Biden concurred with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's recommendation not to accept the conditions, known as joint policy principles, as a basis for plea talks. "The 9/11 attacks were the single worst assault on the United States since Pearl Harbor. More than 3,000 people were killed in the hijacked plane attacks by al Qaeda militants using four commercial airline jets, flying two of them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. The fourth plane went down in rural Pennsylvania after passengers fought back against the hijackers. Reporting by Jeff Mason and Dan Whitcomb; editing by Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Joe Biden, Leah Millis, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Biden, Lloyd Austin's, al, Jeff Mason, Dan Whitcomb, Grant McCool Organizations: Warehouse Union, Pacific Maritime Association, White, REUTERS, Guantanamo, New York Times, U.S, Times, White House, World Trade, Pentagon, Washington , D.C, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, United States, Pearl, New York City, Washington ,, Pennsylvania

☆ Biden Rejects Conditions of Plea Deal for Sept. 11 Attacks Defendants
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden has rejected several conditions sought by five Guantanamo Bay prisoners as part of a deal with federal prosecutors that would see them plead guilty to conspiring in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the New York Times reported on Wednesday. But the defendants have responded with a list conditions, including that they not serve their life sentences in solitary confinement and would be allowed to eat and pray with other inmates, the newspaper said. The White House confirmed that Biden concurred with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's recommendation not to accept the conditions, known as joint policy principles, as a basis for plea talks. "The 9/11 attacks were the single worst assault on the United States since Pearl Harbor. The fourth plane went down in rural Pennsylvania after passengers fought back against the hijackers.

Persons: Joe Biden, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Biden, Lloyd Austin's, al, Jeff Mason, Dan Whitcomb, Grant McCool Organizations: Reuters, Guantanamo, New York Times, U.S, Times, White House, White, World Trade, Pentagon, Washington , D.C Locations: United States, Pearl, New York City, Washington ,, Pennsylvania

Biden's refusal on the plea-bargain guarantees leaves it to military prosecutors and defense lawyers to try to hash out an agreement on a plea bargain. Lawyers for the two sides have been exploring a negotiated resolution to the case for about 1 1/2 years. They had been waiting for about a year of that time to see if Biden would express opposition or support for some of the conditions that defense lawyers had been seeking. Biden was unsettled about accepting terms for the plea from those responsible for the deadliest assault on the United States since Pearl Harbor, the official said. The five defendants include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused as the architect of the attacks, which were waged by commandeered commercial jetliners.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden's, Biden, Lloyd Austin’s, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Brett Eagleson, ” Organizations: WASHINGTON, White, National Security, National Security Council, U.S, D.C Locations: United States, Pearl, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, New York, Washington, Pennsylvania, Afghanistan, Iraq, Guantanamo

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — The oldest prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention center was released and “reunited with his family” in Pakistan, the country's foreign ministry said in a statement Saturday. “We are glad that a Pakistani citizen detained abroad is finally reunited with his family,” the statement said. The Pentagon said in a statement Saturday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had “notified Congress of his intent to repatriate Saifullah Paracha to Pakistan” last month. Following Paracha’s release, 35 detainees remain in Guantanamo Bay and 18 have been cleared for release, according to Amnesty International. The most high-profile prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay prison is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.

☆ I'm a photographer who covered 9/11 and its aftermath. Here are the most gripping photos I took, and the stories behind them.
▼ + stars: | 2001-09-11 | by ( Alan Chin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

A month after that, I got an assignment to go to northern Afghanistan. Their soldiers had repelled a Taliban offensive in 1997, and massacred thousands of the Taliban prisoners they had captured. Air Force flights from as far away as Germany were dropping American military and humanitarian food packets in an effort to win hearts and minds. This was taken aboard the ferry connecting the east and west sides of the American military base. Even as the American war in Afghanistan ends in both ignominy and relief, the conflicts there and in dozens of other places continue.

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