House Oversight Committee launches investigation into plea deal for 9/11 defendants

Washington — The Republican-led House Oversight and Accountability Committee is opening an investigation into whether the White House was involved in the plea deal that military prosecutors reached with the alleged architect of the 9/11 terror attacks and two other defendants.

GOP Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, chairman of the Oversight panel, sent a letter to President Biden on Friday requesting information about the pretrial agreements entered into with the three defendants: Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, who was accused of masterminding the attacks, and his two accomplices, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi.

The three were captured by the U.S. in 2003, but their prosecution has been mired by years of legal delays over whether evidence obtained during their interrogations at secret CIA prisons could be used in court. They were transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2006 and formally charged in 2008. 

The Pentagon confirmed the plea deal in a brief press release Wednesday, which stated only that prosecutors had entered into pretrial agreements with the three detainees. The Defense Department said specific terms and conditions of the deal were not yet available to the public. But the families of 9/11 victims were told in a letter from prosecutors that the men agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy and murder charges in exchange for a life sentence, removing the death penalty as a possible punishment.

Under the deal, the defendants agreed to respond to questions submitted by family members about their roles and reasons for conducting the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. 

But Terry Strada, national chair of 9/11 Families United, scoffed at the notion this could help families heal.  

"Why would any family member want to hear from him?" she said. "He's not going to all of a sudden say, 'I'm sorry,' or give you an honest answer. The only answers he will give will be to send whatever message he wants his followers to hear."

The Oversight investigation

A spokesperson for the National Security Council said the White House learned of the pretrial agreements negotiated by military prosecutors the day it was announced by the Pentagon, and neither the president nor the White House played a role in the process.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan reiterated Thursday that he, Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had no involvement.

"We were informed yesterday, the same day that they went out and publicly [said] that this pretrial agreement had been accepted by the convening authority," he told reporters. "What the president did upon learning of that was direct his team to consult as appropriate with officials and lawyers at the Department of Defense on this matter. Those consultations are ongoing."

But Comer, the Oversight chairman, said his panel has questions surrounding the White House's role in the decision to enter into the plea deal and is "concerned" about what he said is a lack of transparency around the agreements. 

"You are allowing these terrorists to avoid the death penalty, signaling to our enemies that the United States is reluctant to pursue full justice against those who attack our nation," he wrote.

The pretrial agreements were reached after 27 months of negotiations and approved by a senior official at the Pentagon who oversees the military court at Guantanamo Bay. Comer said these events took place during the Biden administration and criticized the White House for saying it played no role in the discussions. 

"That White House officials and you, as president and commander in chief, would seek to distance your administration from this decision is understandable given how absurd it is, but it is far from believable or appropriate," he wrote.

He set an Aug. 16 deadline for the White House to turn over eight tranches of material, including an unredacted copy of the agreements, and communications with the Defense Department and Justice Department relating to the deal and the case.

In addition to Comer's investigation, Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, introduced legislation to nullify the plea deal and require the three detainees to be held in solitary confinement at Guantanamo and prohibit them from being extradited to another country.

A "gut punch" for victims' families

The Pentagon told the families of 9/11 victims last year that a plea agreement was being considered for Mohammad and other Guantanamo detainees. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the terror attacks more than 20 years ago, when two hijacked planes hit the World Trade Center in New York City; a third hit the Pentagon outside of Washington, D.C.; and a fourth crashed into a Pennsylvania field. The fourth plane was bound for Washington and, because of passengers' actions, was the only plane that did not reach its intended target.

News of the deal angered victims' families, some of whom learned of it after a day inside a Manhattan federal courtroom, where their attorneys presented evidence in their case against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its alleged role in the attacks. To them, the news was a "gut punch."

"It was a physical reaction, as well as an emotional one to hear that a plea deal was struck," Strada said. "We didn't know it was coming, so it was a shock. And to hear it on the same day that we were processing all of this new evidence that we'd never seen or heard before, just really kind of sent me almost into a tailspin."

Strada said she supported Comer's investigation, calling for "full transparency" into the deals. 

"It feels like a betrayal," she said. "This is not justice. Taking a plea deal and telling them they don't have to face the death penalty — that's what they wanted. It's a victory for them. I wanted a victory for us. I wanted a victory for my late husband."