A group of news outlets are pressuring the U.S. military commission at Guantanamo Bay to unseal the plea deal struck earlier this year with the alleged plotters of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York City.
A lawyer on behalf of the seven outlets — which include The Associated Press, NPR, Fox News, NBC News, Washington Post, Univision and The New York Times — argued Friday that the terms of the agreement, which was later revoked by the Pentagon, should be made public.
“It’s just inappropriate to have a knee-jerk reaction and say, ‘Well, we have to keep all this from the press,’ Schulz told commission judge, Air Force Col. Matthew McCall, the AP reported. “Particularly in this context … of one of the most disputed, debated, argued-about prosecutions that have happened in this country involving … the most horrendous crime that ever happened on American soil.”
“People have a right to know what’s happening here, and they have a right to know now, not two or three years from now, or whatever,” he added.
The request for information comes after the U.S. struck a deal in July with three prisoners charged with plotting the terrorist attacks: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi. The agreement would have spared them the death penalty.
Days later, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin scrapped the deal, saying due to the significance of the case, the fate of the three prisoners “should rest with me as the superior authority under the Military Commissions Act of 2009.”
During a hearing Friday, both the prosecution and defense opposed Schultz’s request. They cited challenges filed in the case against Austin’s decision.
The Hill has reached out to Schulz for comment.
