Top Democrat Fighting For 9/11 Masterminds: ‘A Slap in the Face to America’

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin is begging the Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to restore a plea deal for three planners of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks following a revocation last week.

The Democrat made his plea on X where he claimed the decision to revoke the plea deals was “deeply disappointing” and “denies finality and justice to 9/11 families and exposes yet again the lack of independence that has haunted the military commissions from the outset.”

I urge Secretary Austin to reverse this deeply disappointing decision, which denies finality and justice to 9/11 families and exposes yet again the lack of independence that has haunted the military commissions from the outset. https://t.co/75aFCyhQtq

— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) August 4, 2024

As Fox News reported:

The Department of Defense initially revealed last week that pre-trial agreements were entered with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi.

The details of the plea deals were not public, but it was reported that they involved the alleged terrorists each avoiding the death penalty, according to the New York Post. Relatives of 9/11 victims were reportedly told as much by the Office of Military Commissions (OMC).

By Friday of last week, Austin announced he was withdrawing the plea agreements and relieving the official who had coordinated the deals under his authority.

“I have determined that, in light of the significance of the decision to enter into pre-trial agreements with the accused in the above-referenced case, responsibility for such a decision should rest with me as the superior convening authority under the Military Commissions Act of 2009,” Austin wrote in the order.

“Effective immediately, I hereby withdraw your authority in the above-referenced case to enter into a pre-trial agreement and reserve such authority to myself. Effective immediately, in the exercise of my authority, I hereby withdraw from the three pre-trial agreements that you signed on July 31, 2024 in the above-referenced case,” Austin said.

The cry from Sen. Durbin was the complete opposite of his Republican colleagues in Congress who praised the revocation and slammed the Biden administration for even offering a plea deal to terrorists.

My statement with @LeaderMcConnell on the revoked plea deal for 9/11 terrorists. The Biden-Harris administration’s consideration of a plea deal with terrorist mass murderers was disgraceful. pic.twitter.com/T5VNLZFGnX

— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) August 3, 2024

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his accomplices should face the total weight of justice, not be given a plea deal. This is a slap in the face to every 9/11 victim, survivor, and their families. pic.twitter.com/FC8lQ33AhU

— Congressman Mike Lawler (@RepMikeLawler) July 31, 2024

Any plea deal with the terrorists responsible for killing thousands of Americans, including so many of my constituents, is unacceptable. We owe it to the victims, their families and those 9/11 heroes who continue to suffer and die from related illnesses to pursue the death… pic.twitter.com/w6oNLmgfQX

— Office of Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (@RepMalliotakis) July 31, 2024

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are cutting deals with the mastermind behind 9/11. A slap in the face to America and her honored dead. https://t.co/zIp4hJe8Xg

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) July 31, 2024

Whether Durbin is pleased with the choice or not, Austin has already revoked the deal and far more people seem pleased with that decision than those like the Utah Senator.