A military judge on Friday threw out a confession made by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
In his ruling, Lt. Col. Michael Schrama, a military judge, wrote that statements made by Mohammed to investigators in 2007 were not given voluntarily, the New York Post reported.
The ruling could complicate what has already been a decades-long wait for the suspected plotter to stand trial. The move wasn’t initially made public, but sources familiar with its contents told the newspaper that Schrama had axed Mohammed’s confessions from the case in the ruling.
NEW 9/11 MUSEUM EXHIBIT AIMS TO CONNECT YOUNGER AMERICANS TO THE ATTACKS THROUGH POWERFUL ARTIFACTS
Earlier this week, just days before the 25th anniversary of the deadly attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, Schrama set a trial date for June 2028 for Mohammed and three co-defendants — Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin ‘Atash, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali.
Schrama rejected a request by prosecutors to open the trial in January 2027, saying it would leave too little time for the “resolution of pretrial evidentiary and compliance motions.”
I LOST MY WIFE ON 9/11; PLEASE LET THIS 25TH ANNIVERSARY BELONG TO THE FAMILIES
Fox News Digital has reached out to military prosecutors in the case. The advocacy group 9/11 Families United declined to comment on Friday’s ruling to Fox News Digital.
Schrama’s latest ruling threatens to further delay the case, which has been plagued by postponements and failed efforts to secure plea agreements.
In 2024, Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi agreed to admit their roles in the terror attacks in exchange for serving life sentences and avoiding the death penalty. They are all being held in a U.S. military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
I LOST MY WIFE ON 9/11. PLEASE LET THIS 25TH ANNIVERSARY BELONG TO THE FAMILIES
Amid criticism of the plea deal from many families of the victims, the Biden administration withdrew the agreement, resulting in more litigation.
In addition to avoiding the death penalty, it stipulated that the men answer any questions the families of the victims have about the attacks.
