During a campaign speech Wednesday in Glendale, Arizona, Trump's vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance criticized the plea deal accepted by three of the terrorists behind the killing. September 11 terrorist attacks awaiting trial in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“Just today I learned that the Biden-Harris Justice Department reached a deal with al-Qaeda terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to avoid the death penalty. It was reported today,” Vance said. “Now, for someone who enlisted in the Marines to serve after 9/11, that's ridiculous. But it's not surprising.”
On Wednesday, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced that military commissions convening authority Susan Escallier signed pretrial agreements with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi.
The Ohio Republican went on to criticize the Biden-Harris administration, which he said “has been a disaster for our country around the world.”
“Now, just think about where we've come from: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have used the Justice Department as a weapon to go after their political opponents, but they're making a sweetheart deal with the 9/11 terrorists,” Vance said. “We need a president who will kill terrorists, not negotiate with them.”
Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks during a campaign event in Glendale, Arizona, on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
9/11 shooter and two others reach plea deals while awaiting trial; families of victims 'very disappointed'
House Speaker Mike Johnson also condemned the prosecutors' decision, saying the Biden-Harris administration had done the “unthinkable.”
“Twenty-three years ago, America watched in horror as thousands of innocent Americans died. America mourned for weeks as emergency responders sifted through the ashes at Ground Zero, the Pentagon, and the crash site in Shanksville. For more than two decades, the families of those killed by these terrorists have waited for justice. This plea deal is a slap in the face to those families. They deserved better from the Biden-Harris Administration,” Johnson wrote in a post on X.
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An American flag over the engraved name of Father Mychal F. Judge, the New York Fire Department chaplain who died in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, at the National September 11 Memorial in New York. (AP Photo/Mike Segar/Pool/File)
The terms and conditions of the plea deals were not disclosed, but the terror suspects will be spared the death penalty, the Office of Military Commissions (OMC) told three relatives of 9/11 victims. The New York Post reported.
The defendants are accused of providing training, financial support and other assistance to the 19 terrorists who hijacked passenger jets and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 11, 2001.
The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people in the The worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil in U.S. history. Loved ones of the victims expressed outrage at hearing news of the settlement.
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In September, President Biden rejected a plea deal that would have He apologized on September 11th architects and co-conspirators potentially facing the death penalty.
Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, shakes hands with a young supporter during a campaign event in Glendale, Arizona, on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
They are scheduled to be sentenced at Guantanamo Bay on August 5.
Vance also gave other examples of the Biden-Harris administration's weaknesses, linking Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro re-election, which he is widely believed to have fraudulently won in Sunday's election, securing him another six-year term.
“There are many examples we could talk about, but recently it has come to light that Venezuela made a deal with a dictator and offered in exchange that that dictator would hold free and fair elections,” Vance said. “And the most shocking thing is that the Kamala Harris administration knows nothing about free and fair elections.”
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“They are coddling dictators all over the world. We need to bring back American strength. And that means bringing back Donald J. Trump as president of the United States.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
Fox News Digital's Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
