EXCLUSIVE TO FOX: A prominent House committee is initiating an inquiry into the U.S. government’s plea agreement with the three suspected terrorists involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday, requesting all documents related to the plea deal. This includes “all documents and communications detailing terms, conditions, agreements, side-deals, or any mutually developed, related, conditional, or linked agreements with any party concerning the terms and conditions of the plea agreements.”
Rogers also sought records of communications during the Biden administration related to the plea deal, which he termed “unconscionable.”
“Many in our nation, including Congress, are profoundly shocked and angered by the revelation that the terrorist mastermind and his accomplices behind the September 11, 2001 attacks, which claimed nearly 3,000 innocent lives, were extended a plea bargain,” Rogers stated in the letter, which was first reported by Fox News Digital.
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Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Mike Rogers, is calling for further details on the plea deals involving Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and two other defendants in the 9/11 case. (Getty Images)
“Regrettably, this news is a devastating blow to many families of the victims.”
This announcement follows the Pentagon’s disclosure that three alleged culprits of the September 11 attacks, who have been held at Guantánamo Bay while awaiting trial, have entered into pretrial agreements with the U.S. government.
The specifics of the plea agreements involving Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi have not been disclosed.
The three individuals are accused of aiding the al-Qaeda hijackers who crashed commercial airplanes into the World Trade Center towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia almost 23 years ago.
A third aircraft, which was believed to be targeting the U.S. Capitol, went down in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after the passengers and crew managed to overpower the terrorists. All individuals onboard were killed.
LAWMAKERS AND FAMILIES OF 9/11 VICTIMS RESPOND TO PLEA DEAL WITH TERRORISTS: ‘A SLAP IN THE FACE’
The Pentagon building in Arlington, Virginia, captured on Friday, April 21, 2023. (Tom Brenner/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“It is outrageous that the Biden-Harris Administration would permit such a plea agreement. You, Mr. Secretary, oversee the Office of Military Commissions. Your Department has facilitated a plea deal with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and his group of assassins,” Rogers wrote on Thursday.
“Such agreements grant terrorists hope that America is unwilling to hold the most heinous criminals accountable for their atrocious acts. Essentially, this deal indicates a willingness to negotiate with terrorists who intentionally harm Americans.”
The Pentagon declined to provide comments regarding the letter when approached by Fox News Digital, stating, “As with all congressional correspondence, the Department will respond directly to the Members.”
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Rogers’ inquiry coincides with the House Oversight Committee’s initiation of a similar investigation into the plea deals, with Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., sending a letter to President Biden on Friday.
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Brett Eagleson, president of a victims’ family advocacy group known as 9/11 Justice, expressed that he was “profoundly concerned” about the plea bargains in a statement on Thursday.
“While we accept the choice to avoid the death penalty, our foremost concern remains the ability to access information from these individuals. These plea deals should not create a system of closed agreements, where vital information is concealed without allowing victims’ families the opportunity to uncover the complete truth,” Eagleson stated.
