During a campaign speech Wednesday in Glendale, Arizona, Trump campaign vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance slammed the plea deal taken by three of the terrorists behind the Sept. 11 terror attacks awaiting trial in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
“Just today, I heard that the Biden-Harris Department of Justice cut a deal with al-Qaeda terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to avoid the death penalty. It was reported today,” Vance said. “Now, as someone who enlisted in the Marines to serve after 9/11, that is ridiculous. But it’s not surprising.”
On Wednesday, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced the Convening Authority for Military Commissions, Susan Escallier, entered into pretrial agreements with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi.
The Ohio Republican continued and called out the Biden-Harris administration, who he said “has been a disaster for our country all over the world.”
“Now, just think about the point that we’ve gotten to Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, have weaponized the Department of Justice to go after their political opponents, but they’re cutting a sweetheart deal with 9/11 terrorists,” Vance said. “We need a president who kills terrorists, not 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)
House Speaker Mike Johnson also condemned the prosecutors’ decision, stating that the Biden-Harris Administration has done the “unthinkable.”
“23 years ago, America watched in horror as thousands of innocent Americans died. 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,” Johnson wrote in a post on X.
An American flag on the etched 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, three relatives of 9/11 victims were told by the Office of Military Commissions (OMC), 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 worst terror attack on U.S. soil in American history. Loved ones of the victims expressed outrage upon hearing news of the deal.
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In September, President Biden rejected a plea deal that would have excused the 9/11 architects and co-conspirators from 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, Ariz., Wednesday. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
They are slated to be sentenced in Guantánamo Bay on Aug. 5
Vance also gave other examples of the Biden-Harris administration weaknesses, linking Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro re-election, which he is widely believed to have fraudulently won Sunday’s election, ensuring him another six-year term.
“Now, there are so many examples we could talk about, but recent news comes out of Venezuela that they cut a deal with a dictator in Venezuela, and they offered in exchange that that dictator would have free and fair elections,” Vance said. “And shocker, the Kamala Harris administration doesn’t know anything about free and fair elections.”
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“So they’re coddling dictators all over the world. We need to bring back American strength. And that means bring it back, Donald J. Trump, as president of the United States.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.