The Biden administration asked a federal appeals court to block a plea agreement for accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The controversial deal would spare Mohammed from the death penalty for his role in planning the terror attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.
The deadly attack rocked the U.S. and began the war on terrorism.
In court filings Tuesday, Jan. 7, the Justice Department argued the government would be irreparably harmed if the guilty pleas were accepted for Mohammed and two co-defendants in the 9/11 attacks.
It said the government would be denied a chance for a public trial and the opportunity to “seek capital punishment against three men charged with a heinous act of mass murder that caused the death of thousands of people and shocked the nation and the world.”
The Defense Department negotiated and approved the plea deal but later revoked it.
However, attorneys for the defendants argued the deal was already legally in effect and that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who began the administration’s efforts to throw it out, acted too late.
Mohammed is set to enter his guilty plea on Friday, Jan. 10, if the appeal is not granted. His co-defendants, accused of lesser roles in 9/11, are due to enter theirs next week.
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