Military Judge Dismisses Fourth 9/11 Defendant’s Confessions
A military judge ruled that confessions from a fourth 9/11 defendant were inadmissible, marking another setback for the federal government’s case.
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A military judge has ruled that the confessions of a fourth defendant in the government’s 9/11 case are inadmissible, marking another significant setback for prosecutors. The ruling, delivered by Lt. Col. Michael Schrama, found that the confessions of Walid bin Attash were coerced and therefore not admissible in court.
Walid bin Attash is accused of helping train two of the hijackers involved in the September 11, 2001, attacks that killed 3,000 Americans. During his initial interrogations in January 2007, bin Attash told federal agents, “Tell the judge that I am very proud for my part in the Planes Operation,” according to The New York Times.
The judge ruled that the agents failed to inform bin Attash that the previous statements he made to the CIA from 2003 to 2006 could not be used against him. Additionally, the judge found that the FBI agents used a technique similar to one the CIA employed to keep bin Attash confessing, which is now considered coercive.
This is the fifth time that a military judge has ruled that confessions obtained through so-called clean teams are inadmissible. The program was designed by Bush administration lawyers in 2007 to ensure that the confessions were not coerced and could be used in court.
Breaking news: The military judge just threw out the confessions of the fourth defendant in the 9/11 case, which has gone on so long in part because prosecutors fought hard to keep them. It’s a blow to the Bush administration’s clean team theory. 5-0. https://t.co/mGVYZnd889
Earlier this year, a judge also dismissed a key confession made by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, just two weeks before the 25th anniversary of the attacks. In July 2024, three 9/11 masterminds reached plea deals with the U.S. government, but an appeals court later canceled that agreement, bringing the death penalty back into consideration.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is currently detained at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center, a U.S. military prison in Cuba. The ongoing legal challenges to the confessions continue to complicate the prosecution’s case, highlighting the difficulties in securing admissible evidence in high-profile terrorism trials.
Source: The Gateway Pundit
