During a campaign rally on Wednesday in Glendale, Arizona, Trump campaign’s vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance criticized the plea agreement made by three terrorists involved in the Sept. 11 terror attacks who are currently facing trial in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
“I heard today that the Biden-Harris Department of Justice has made a deal with al-Qaeda terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to evade the death penalty. This was reported today,” Vance stated. “As someone who joined the Marines after 9/11, this is absurd. However, it’s not unexpected.”
On the same day, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced that the Convening Authority for Military Commissions, Susan Escallier, had entered into pretrial agreements with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi.
The Ohio Republican further criticized the Biden-Harris administration, which he claimed “has been a catastrophe for our country globally.”
“Now consider the state we’ve reached: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have weaponized the Department of Justice against their political adversaries, yet they’re making a favorable deal with 9/11 terrorists,” said Vance. “We require a president who eliminates terrorists, not one who negotiates with them.”
Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks during a campaign event in Glendale, Ariz., Wednesday. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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House Speaker Mike Johnson also criticized the prosecutor’s actions, asserting that the Biden-Harris Administration has committed the “unimaginable.”
“Twenty-three years ago, America witnessed, horrified, as thousands of innocent citizens perished. The nation mourned deeply as first responders sifting through the debris at Ground Zero, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville. For over two decades, the families of those slain by these terrorists have anticipated justice. This plea deal is an affront to those families. They warranted better treatment from the Biden-Harris Administration,” Johnson expressed in a post on X.
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An American flag rests on the etched name of Father Mychal F. Judge, the New York Fire Department chaplain who perished 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 details of the plea agreements were not disclosed, but the terror suspects will avoid the death penalty, as communicated to three family members of 9/11 victims by the Office of Military Commissions (OMC), according to the New York Post.
The defendants face allegations of providing training, financial resources, and other support to the 19 terrorists who hijacked planes, crashing 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.
These attacks resulted in nearly 3,000 casualties in the worst terror attack on American soil in history. Families of the victims expressed their anger upon hearing about the deal.
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In September, President Biden dismissed a plea deal that would have excused the 9/11 planners and co-conspirators from 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, Ariz., Wednesday. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Sentencing for the defendants is scheduled to occur in Guantánamo Bay on August 5.
Vance also highlighted other failures of the Biden-Harris administration, mentioning Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro‘s re-election, which he is widely believed to have fraudulently won in Sunday’s election, allowing him another six years in power.
“There are numerous cases we could discuss, but recent developments from Venezuela indicate they reached an agreement with a dictator there, suggesting that he would conduct free and fair elections,” Vance remarked. “And, unsurprisingly, the Kamala Harris administration remains clueless about what constitutes free and fair elections.”
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“They are enabling dictators globally. We must restore American strength, and that starts with bringing back Donald J. Trump as president of the United States.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for a response.
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
