Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is calling for the plea deal given to 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to be scrutinized very carefully. Blumenthal is a senior member of the Judiciary Committee and said he has not received an explanation from the Biden administration.
“I think there are interests here that may not have been represented as fairly and aggressively as they should have been," Blumenthal said. "I champion the 9/11 families in their legal action against Saudi Arabia. There is so much here that we don't know. We have an obligation to tell the American people about the potential complicity not only of these defendants but of Saudi Arabia and other countries.”
On July 31, the Defense Department announced Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two of his accomplices are expected to plead guilty at the military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. All three were jointly charged and arraigned in 2008 and 2012. Their lawyers had previously requested they receive life sentences in exchange for the guilty plea.
Mohammed conceived the idea of using planes in the attack and received approval from Osama Bin Laden to move forward with planning.
Mohammed was subject to waterboarding and torture while in custody. The evidence collected while he was being tortured is inadmissible in court, which contributed to the years of delays.
Blumenthal said the Biden administration owes both Congress and the victims' families an explanation for why they entered the plea agreement. He expressed concern that the families may not have been represented fairly.
“When we fight terrorists and we have them in custody, we need to hold them accountable with the kinds of penalties that really do justice to the victims,” Blumenthal said.
Republicans also condemned the deal.
“The Biden-Harris administration’s weakness in the face of sworn enemies of the American people apparently knows no bounds,” Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in a statement. “The only thing worse than negotiating with terrorists is negotiating with them after they are in custody. The families of their victims and the American people deserve real justice.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said the move was the wrong signal at the wrong time.
“When we give a plea deal to the mastermind of 9/11 that just encourages more attacks,” Graham said. “I think it was an ill conceived idea. He's not going anywhere. I mean, he's held as an enemy combatant.”
Congress is in August recess and will also be out of Washington for all of October. So, if there’s going to be a public hearing on the deal, it will be at least a month out.
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