Families of those who perished in the 9/11 terrorist attacks are voicing their concerns following the announcement of plea agreements for the individuals orchestrating the attacks.
Joe Connor, who lost his cousin, Steve Schlag, on 9/11 and whose father, Frank, was a victim of the FALN terrorist attack at Fraunces Tavern in New York City in 1975, expressed his worries to Fox News Digital about the recently reached plea deal.
“Seeing this makes me fearful that we won’t achieve justice for my cousin and the thousands who lost their lives that day, along with their families. My father’s attackers, the FALN, were granted clemency by the Clintons and Obama,” Connor remarked. “This is all about politics, and it has me worried that these individuals could eventually find their way into a U.S. prison. It concerns me that political motivations may lead to their release.”
On Wednesday, prosecutors confirmed that plea agreements have been made with three of the key figures behind the September 11 terror attacks, who had been awaiting trial in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to the Department of Defense (DOD).
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Terry Strada, the national chair of 9/11 Families United, suggested that the Biden administration was pressuring prosecutors to finalize the plea agreement. (Terry Strada/AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)
The Convening Authority for Military Commissions, Susan Escallier, has reached pretrial agreements with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, according to the DOD.
The defendants are accused of aiding the 19 hijackers who crashed passenger planes into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on September 11, 2001.
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Terry Strada, whose husband Tom was a bond broker that died when a hijacked plane struck the North Tower, stated that while the terrorists achieved their objectives, countless families were left in anguish. (Terry Strada | Seth McAllister/AFP via Getty Images)
Terry Strada, who lost her husband Tom, a 41-year-old bond broker when one of the hijacked planes hit the North Tower, remarked that the terrorists got what they desired while many families continue to suffer the aftermath.
As national chair of 9/11 Families United, Strada indicated that it seems the Biden administration has been exerting pressure on prosecutors to finalize these plea agreements.
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“They want this off their agenda, especially with an election year approaching,” she told Fox News Digital. “These terrorists committed atrocious acts against the United States. They should have been held accountable, faced trial, and received appropriate punishment. Since when do murderers get to dictate the terms?”
Numerous lawmakers have criticized the Biden administration’s decision regarding the plea deals, which ultimately spared the three 9/11 plotters from facing the death penalty.
According to letters from the federal government to relatives of nearly 3,000 individuals killed on that fateful day, defense attorneys have proposed that the men be sentenced to life imprisonment in return for their guilty pleas.
A letter dispatched on Wednesday to the families of the 9/11 victims by the Office of Prosecutor for Military Commissions stated that the choice to enter into plea agreements “was not made lightly; it is our reasoned, collective, and good-faith assessment that this option represents the most suitable path toward closure and justice in this matter.”
In return for admitting guilt for the deaths of 2,976 individuals, the defendants have agreed to answer questions posed by the victims’ families about their involvement in the attacks and their motivations. Families have until September 14 to submit their questions, as stated in the letter.
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Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is depicted in a photo released by the FBI on October 10, 2001. (FBI | Getty Images)
Strada also expressed distress regarding the decision to keep the defendants in Guantanamo Bay, rather than transferring them to a maximum-security facility in the United States.
“They are granted the ability to exercise, to spend time outdoors, to watch films, and choose their meals,” she noted. “Their lifestyle in Guantanamo Bay is quite favorable. They have their prayer rugs and everything they require. Tom Strada is greatly missed by his three children, who were just 7, 4, and 4 days old when he passed,” Strada reflected.
“No one remains unchanged after a devastating terrorist act,” she said. “Terrorism achieves its goal: it instills profound fear. That is the lifetime of anguish they have caused us.”
In September 2023, President Biden refused a plea deal that would have exempted the architects and co-conspirators of 9/11 from potentially facing the death penalty.
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The prisoners requested conditions that included a guarantee against solitary confinement and provisions for communal meals and prayers with other inmates at Guantanamo Bay. They also sought a civilian-run program to address brain and sleep disorders and gastrointestinal issues they claim were inflicted by the CIA during their earlier interrogations before being transferred to Guantanamo Bay in 2006, as reported by the New York Times at that time.
9/11 Families United attended a court session in NYC on Wednesday, where they have initiated legal action against Saudi Arabia regarding its alleged role in the attacks.
The attacks resulted in the deaths of nearly 3,000 individuals, marking the most devastating terror attack in U.S. history.
