The Biden-Harris Administration canceled a stunning plea deal that was signed this week with the terrorists who were responsible for the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States — and relieved the senior U.S. official who offered the deal.
Retired Brig. Gen. Susan K. Escallier, who was responsible for overseeing the war court case at Guantánamo Bay, was relieved from her position by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin after her team entered into pretrial agreements with 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi.
The deal allowed the terrorists to escape the death penalty in-exchange for them pleading guilty to the murder of 2,976 people and serving sentences of at most life in prison.
By removing Escallier, Austin assumed authority over the case and immediately canceled the agreement, meaning the death penalty is back on the table, following days of public backlash against the Biden-Harris Administraiton.
“Effective immediately, in the exercise of my authority, I hereby withdraw from the three pretrial agreements that you signed on July 31, 2024,” Austin said.
Top U.S. lawmakers slammed the Biden-Harris Administration for the plea deal, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
McConnell said the plea deal was “a revolting abdication of the government’s responsibility to defend America and provide justice.”
“The Biden-Harris Administration’s weakness in the face of sworn enemies of the American people apparently knows no bounds,” McConnell said. “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. In the same week that Israel eliminated some of Iran’s most trusted terrorist proxies, the Administration’s decision to spare these mass-murderers from the death penalty is an especially bitter pill.”
“Meanwhile, the Biden-Harris Administration still seeks to release other Guantanamo terrorists back into the world,” he concluded. “The Administration’s cowardice in the face of terror is a national disgrace.”
“23 years ago, America watched in horror as thousands of innocent Americans died,” he continued. “America mourned for weeks afterwards as first responders sifted through the ashes at Ground Zero, at the Pentagon, and at the crash site in Shanksville. For more than two decades, the families of those murdered by these terrorists have waited for justice. This plea deal is a slap in the face of those families. They deserved better from the Biden-Harris Administration.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said that the plea deal made it “a very, very good week, if you happen to be a terrorist.”
“If you happen to be someone who wants to murder Americans, this has been a phenomenal week because Joe Biden and Kamala Harris just gave a gift to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, they agreed to take the death penalty off the table and spare his life,” Cruz said. “It’s an absolute outrage. It’s an insult to the families of all of those who were murdered on 9/11.”