Alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed trial set for June 2028
Former assistant U.S. attorney Andy McCarthy weighs in on the evidentiary hurdles facing prosecutors in the case against accused 9/11 architect Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, recent court decisions involving mail-in ballots as North Carolina begins sending them out, and the prosecution’s next steps after an 11-1 jury deadlock in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial.
Military prosecutors are pressing forward with the case against the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, even though they will not be able to use a crucial confession, as they seek to keep the long-delayed trial on track for 2028.
The federal government has opted not to challenge a recent decision by a military judge excluding statements Khalid Sheikh Mohammed made in 2007.
As a result, Mohammed’s statements to the FBI will be barred from evidence when the case finally goes before a court.
“An appeal could jeopardize the hard-earned June 5, 2028, trial date,” the prosecution team’s liaison to victims wrote in a Friday letter, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to The New York Post. The decision came one week before the 25th anniversary of the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, has been held at Guantánamo Bay since 2003. (AP)
Appeals can take years to resolve, an outcome military prosecutors want to avoid given the series of delays that have prolonged the wait for victims’ families to receive justice. Mohammed and his alleged co-conspirators — Walid bin Attash, Mustafa al-Hawsawi, and Ammar al-Baluchi — are scheduled to go on trial in June 2028.
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Prosecutors initially planned to use a confession obtained from Mohammed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he has been held for nearly two decades.
Firefighter walks through the rubble of the World Trade Center after it was struck by a commercial airliner in a terrorist attack. A hijacked American Airlines Boeing 767, originating from Boston’s Logan Airport, struck 1 World Trade Center (north tower) at 8:45 a.m. At 9:03 a.m., a United Airlines 767, also hijacked in Boston, crashed into 2 World Trade Center (south tower).The second tower came down 39 minutes after the first. (Todd Maisel/NY Daily News via Getty Images)
Lt. Col. Michael Schrama set the trial date last month before suppressing the confession. He cited “severe coercion” and noted that Mohammed did not have an opportunity to consult with an attorney.
Mohammed and two of his co-defendants had agreed to a plea deal with the Biden administration in 2024 that would have spared them the death penalty.
The deal was subsequently revoked following public outcry, resulting in further lengthy litigation.
Meanwhile, 9/11 families have asked the Trump administration to declassify documents on Saudi Arabia’s alleged role in the attacks.