Official court documents and announcements

Biden Administration Blocks Plea Deal for 9/11 Mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed at Guantanamo Bay

Jan 10, 2025, 12:16 AM

The Biden administration has succeeded in temporarily blocking a plea deal for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, that would have spared him the risk of the death penalty. The federal appeals court issued an administrative stay of a hearing set for Friday at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where Mohammed was expected to plead guilty. The administration's move followed a ruling by a military appeals court that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was not authorized to withdraw the plea agreement. The plea deal, which also involved two co-defendants, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al Hawsawi, would have seen them enter guilty pleas for their roles in the attacks in exchange for life sentences without parole. The Justice Department argued that proceeding with the plea hearings would deprive the government and the American people of a public trial and the possibility of capital punishment for what it described as 'the most egregious criminal act on American soil in modern history.'