U.S. – vs – KSM UPDATE
Posted on January 8, 2025 1 Comment
The writ of Mandamus and emergency stay have been filed with the D.C. District Court, at 4:30 today. The Solicitor General, Elizabeth B. Prelogar, authorized the filing of the brief to the court of appeals seeking the emergency stay to order the Military Judge to not enter the pleas and the 103 pages of the Pre-Trial Agreements (PTAs). If the District Court responds and grants the stay, Friday won’t happen. If they don’t grant the stay by Friday Morning, it essentially cannot be stopped. Once the Judge rules KSM guilty, it cannot be undone. The governement’s request had to be hand served to the three accused detainees planning to enter PTAs; KSM, WBA, and HAW.
Right now, we’re in limbo to see if D.C. District Court will accept and grant the stay. If granted, we’re done. VFMs ask, what is the stay addressing? Council states they can’t be sure if the stay is addressing only the entry of the pleas or to include the suppression proceedings scheduled to continue in week 3 for Ali Abdul Ali (aka Ammar al-Baluchi. AAA) as well. We only have 3 have pleas. AAA has filed separate motions in the 3rd week. If the stay is granted only for the three PTAs, we can still do the suppression hearings for AAA. If they stay the entire 9/11 case, then nothing happens in the Military Commissions for several months until the administration researches the writ request. If the stay is not granted, the PTAs are happening beginning 9:00 AM Friday morning. Almost all of the details of the PTAs will be laid out in open court. As of now, KSM is prepped and ready to say YES to all of the questions. The legally significant moment is when the provisions are presented and the Military Judge accepts his guilty plea.
If the District Court grants the stay the next question is, what are the parameters? Will it apply to only this Friday’s PTA (KSM), to all three PTA’s, to all 5 cases? The Military Judge, Matthew McCall, can give additional days for the District Circuit Court to decide.
This situation is unprecedented. If the request gets pushed into the new administration with the new SoD, there could be a pause in the commissions as a whole, The PTA’s could enter into a long pause, the PTAs could be halted, or rejected altogether. If the latter occurs, the poison pill clause will apply.
What is the poison pill clause and how does it apply? The poison pill is a defense strategy, a contract holder rights plan. The Pre-Trial Agreements are contracts. The defendants KSM, WBA, and MAH have signed contracts. If they are not carried out, there is a punishment of sorts for breaching the contract. Every part of the 103 pages of the contract (PTA) provisions will have to be litigated. This would take years. KSM turns 60 this year.
Open session court is scheduled to commence tomorrow (Wednesday) at 9:00 AM. Council will confer with the judge, the conditions of the 103 pages of the PTA for KSM.
Feature photo rights of Deborah Garcia, with permission by the Office of Military Commissions, Victims Witness Protection Program.
PRE-TRIAL AGREEMENT – v – PLEA DEAL
Posted on January 7, 2025 3 Comments
After attending six weeks of pre-trial hearings for the 9/11 detainees currently held in the detention center at the Naval Base, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a crucial term pertaining to the cases regarding Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (KSM), Walid bin Attash (WBA), and Mustafa Ahmed Hawsawi (MAH), has become a focal point of confusion among Victim Family Members (VFMs) and the public. The term in question is Pre-Trial Agreement (PTA). This term has become muddled in a quagmire of legal, journalistic, social media, and political reporting and bantering. Terms like “Plea Deals,” and “Plea Agreements.” All you have to do is Google 9/11 plea deals, or 9/11 trials to find an inexhaustive array of headlines reading, “The Accused 9/11 plotters reach plea deals with U.S…” Washington Post, 7/31/2024; “Guantanamo prosecutors are exploring plea deals in 9/11 case after…” NPR.org 5/21/2022; “Plea deals revived for alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed…” APnews.com, 11/7/2024.
Pre-Trial Agreements and Plea Deals are not mutually exclusive rulings and it is incorrect to use the two terms interchangeably, because they are entirely different things. Using these terms interchangeably not only confuses and undermines the intelligence of those directly impacted, but also creates undue emotional distress and misguided conversations and conflicts.
Communication is the most important element of community engagement and conflict resolution. A question is a powerful thing. Krista Tippett, Journalist, author, entrepreneur eloquently reminds us that “while a simple question can be precisely what’s needed to drive to the heart of the matter, it’s hard to meet a simplistic question with anything but a simplistic answer. It’s hard to transcend a combative question. But it’s harder to resist a generous question.” https://fs.blog/krista-tippett-listening-questions/. At the Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, I am living the questions with my son, nine other VFMs, emotinal support staff, and council representing the five men who murdered 2,977 innocent people, sickening uncountable others, in one single, planned attack on American soil.
My personal need to pursue the questions has lead me to listen generously and ask questions of government council, VWAP personnel, and family members who have been entrenched in the Military Commissions at GTMO, some since the five 9/11 detainees first attempted to plead guilty in 2012.
The questions highlighted here are What is a Pre-Trial Agreement and what is a Plea Deal?
PRE-TRIAL AGREEMENT:
A Pre-Trial Agreement aka PTA, is a contract between the accused and a Convening Authority who exercises authorities and enters into a contract given a certainty of guilt. The contract will ultimately be approved by the judge. The accused has to admit guilt (guilty plea) and the overt things(s) that he did that resulted in all of the murders, in enough detail to the satisfaction of the court. January 7th, 2025, In the case of U.S. v. KSM, council will discuss what needs to be said by KSM to satsify the Military Judge. Both Defense and Prosecution council will go through the provisions of the PTA. The one overriding provision is that a plea of guilt commutes a Death Penalty.
PLEA DEAL:
In a Plea Deal there is no actual contract. The attorney’s agree. The defendant gives a guilty plea to the judge, perhaps to lighten a sentence, understanding that if the judge accepts the plea, there is no trial, and Victim Impact Statements are less formal. The Judge decides on a sentence and the case is closed. There is no contract in State Court that equals Military Court.
THE SITUATION:
The Military Court has a unique way of solving cases. Once the PTA’s are entered into the Court with the defendant’s plea of Guilt, the case enters a Sentencing Trial Phase. There is a Trial. The Trial part of the PTA is equal to the sentencing part. After the PTAs have been accepted, the Judge has 18 months from the day of the plea to begin to issue a Scheduling Order for full litigation of the sentencing case. Scheduling for KSM must commence no later than June 2026. This Order includes selection of a Jury panel of officers and a Jury Foreman from all branches of the military. The jury panel has not seen the evidence of why they have been declared guilty. Once the Jury panel is in place, the classified evidence comes out. The conditions and degree for every action made or not made by the guilty party that led to the crime are not questionable as in a Federal trial. In essence in the Military Court, a trial occurs. It is not a Death Penalty trial. The PTA contract has traded death for a guilty plea and we get all of the evidence we want to get into the case, lifetime confinement (at GTMO), and Victim Impact Statements. Communal activities and amentities currently afforded the detainees cease.
A Certainty of Guilt
In the the Sentencing Trial Phase, council will present all of the evidence including but not limited to communications recordings and transcripts, banking and money transfer statements, tapings of planning meetings, apprehended notebooks, etc. The defendants cannot object to anything the government (prosecution) states as part of the PTA. This Trial phase will also include the following elements: 1. The names of each of the 2,977 victims murdered and survivors impacted, will be stated and identified. There is a large witness list for those victims who were positively identified. 2. There will be rulings on certification facts (i.e. death records, anthropology reports, to alleviate additional witnesses. 3. Witness statements to testify to the aftermath including family members, survivors, rescue workers, etc. 4. Victim Impact Statements. In Military Court. The Victim Impact Statements can be testimony or letters. This is a formal process. Those giving statements in court will get sworn in. The judge will decide who these individuals will be, based on a broad representation of the 9/11 victim population, in order to give the greatest impression of impact to the jury panel.
It is important to share a word about two more terms, DETAINEES – v – CONVICTED:
Pre-Trial detainees are jailed prior to trial. The 9/11 detainees are held as LAW OF WAR detainees. They are part of al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda is not part of the Geneva Conventions. After KSM (and later the remaining detainees) is convicted, he will transition to a Convicted Prisoner. Under the current detention situation, they will be held as prisoners under the Department of Defense (DoD) Prisoner Policy. The Military Court gets to decide the Prosecution principles. The DoD decides on Policy priniciples. The conditions of confinement are not part of the PTAs. Ultimately it is the DoD that hands down confinement decisions.
The trial part of the PTA is equal to the sentencing part.
Government council
THE STORY:
The attacks on September 11th, 2001 is one of the most notorious crimes in our lifetime. It has shaped the world we live in today. After ten years, from 2012, pursuing a capital case, and subsequently 27 months preparing PTAs to bring finality to the never-ending, heavily politicized and polarized case, the Government/prosecution believes they have made the best choice given the amount of time that has passed and is realistically left, so these monsters don’t die as innocent men, aging, in poor health, un-convicted. Unsentenced. They’ve chosen my husband’s finality. I want to choose their theirs, rather than them doing so by their (natural) death—un convicted, unsentenced—legally innocent.
9/11 has shaped the course of my life and the lives of my sons who lost their innocence at 4- and 8-years-old and grew up in a fearful world without their father. They’ve never known a world without global, domestic, and community conflict churning around their intimate lives. One in which there is no justice and reparations for the sudden annhilation of their dad and thousands of others in a matter of minutes. One in which there is a sense of no hope for my beautiful 27-year old boy who chose finality, in his own ending.
Living in the footprints of 9/11 has been our American life.
5/22/03 – Dylan (6-yrs-old) [Scene: The dinner table]: “Why can’t my Dad be here?” / Mom – “I don’t know, I think you should ask God that question when you get there.” / Dylan – “How do we get to Heaven? I know, we take an airplane!” / Mom – “No, the souls of the people who love you, who are already in Heaven come and get you.” / Dylan – “So Daddy is an angel. I know we can’t see angels so that means Daddy is sitting next to me right now. Is Daddy sitting next to me mommy?” / Mom – “Maybe.” / Dylan – “He is! Why can’t God send him back to Earth again? Why can’t God just throw him down so I can see my Dad again? I’d rather kill the people that killed our Dad. I’d rather sue the person that killed our Dad. Even though it’s not just one person, it’s 100.”
© Deborah Garcia 2025, all rights reserved.
IT’S A GO!
Posted on January 6, 2025 1 Comment
January 5, 2025
Thursday, January 2, VFM’s (Victim’s Family Members) received a cautionary email from the Victim Witness Specialist, Will Andreu from the Office of Military Commissions, recommending that we do not begin travel to Andrew’s AFB, MD until Friday afternoon. Additonally, if we have not heard from the office prior to our departure, to give them a call to inform them that that we are beginning our travel, “in the event that the continuance (delay) is granted.”
Friday, 11:00 AM, I filled my gas tank in West Chester, PA, and texted a message to Will A.– “2 hrs. to Annapolis.”At 11:45 AM I received the call from Mr. Andreu. When GTMO VWAP popped up on my dashboard nav screen I thought, Here it is, the continuance has been granted, the flight is cancelled. “The District Circuit Judge has disapproved the delay (aka continuance) for the PTA’s, ruling that the hearing for KSM must be pushed to Friday, January 10th. We will meet a 7:30AM at the Visitor’s Center at Andrew’s Airforce Base for the flight to Cuba.” (see January 3 post for email notice that followed).
I messaged my son, Dylan, who was already at the hotel near the Base, “it’s a go!”
I arrived at my sister’s home in Annapolis at 1:00 PM, where I met up with my son, who is joining me on the trip. This is his first trip to attend proceedings at GTMO and to face the murderers who robbed him of his father at four-years old. He’s feeling a bit tentative about this mysterious rendevous to the south-eastern tip of cuba with the iron curtain; do we sleep in tents? Can I take photos? Why can’t we cross into Cuba? He is (potentially) about to witness a landmark moment in history, entry of the guilty plea and Pre Trial Agreement of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (KSM), the mastermind of “the Planes Plan,” in the Military Commissions Court. “I’m not sure I’m ready for this Mom.”
Saturday, January 4th welcomed us with a frigid 25 degrees for the brief meet and greet in the Visitor Center parking lot. From there we were to follow Will Andreu and Danielle Redden, Victim Witness Assistance Program Director in procession through Base security en route to the small terminal building. However security retained all of our passports because a name list had not been received from the Pentagon, therefore we were eventually directed back to the Visitor’s center where we waited for special processing. This resulted in nearly an hour delay. Upon our arrival at the terminal, processing our orders and checking bags, our group of ten family members were escorted to the board room where we were formaly introduced to two mental health support personnel and a military escort, and quickly briefed by the Chief and Lead Prosecutors, Rear Adm. Aaorn Rugh and Clayton Trivett. VFM’s were the last people to board the Delta Embracer packed with reporters, NGO’s (Non-Governmental Organization representatives), government contractors, council and the Military Judge.
The three-hour uneventful flight was pleasant with TV screens, hardy sandwich bags or salads, and friendly flight crew. Due to the absence of a plane stabiization rod, the aircraft was deplaned in reverse order. Since VFM’s occupy the front rows, were were the last to exit. It felt a relief to finally step into a breezy 80 degree day. After processing passports and military orders, we boarded the 2:00 ferry for the mainland where we were able to co-mingle with fellow familiar travelers.
The bus, powered by VWAP-dedicated Army Reservists, drove us directly to the NEX (Base shopping center) to pick up food and supplies we wished to have in our rooms, then finally to the NGIS (Navy Gateway Inns and Suites) where we were handed room keys, where we were met by our bags. After a brief rest, we walked together to Rick’s Bar & Cafe for supper and drinks.
At 8:30 PM, I set my alarm for a 7:30 hike and finally slid beneath the sheets.
Sunday, January 5th:
Some VFM’s attended 9 AM Catholic service, while others hiked John Paul Jones Hill or slept in, after which time we all convened at the Bayview Restauraunt at 11 AM for a hearty American – Jamaican brunch, after which time we were escorted to the court house to meet with prosecution.
1:00 PM – Meeting with the Prosecution:
Despite the present rulings, the government (prosecution) has appealed to the higher District Court with the Solicitor General for an Extraordinary Writ of Mandamus. The Solicitor General, Elizabeth B. Prelogar, has authority respectively for all Supreme Court litigations. https://www.justice.gov/osg/staff-profile/meet-solicitor-general. (What is a Writ of Mandamus? A written order from a higher court to a lower court, or to a government official, office, or corporation, commanding that a specified thing be done.) This decision will happen in the next 24-48 hours (by Tuesday noonish). If there’s no word from the Solicitor General, the PTA for KSM will continue. Even if she decides to appeal, the MIlitary Judge can choose to continue. At this juncture, an Emergency Stay can be issued however, unlikely that there will be time. If the writ is honored and the Stay is granted then the DoJ owns authority over the case. However, Double Jeopardy will apply. Double Jeopardy will make it difficult to prosecute KSM by the same sovereign for the same events. He cannot be prosecuted in Federal District Court for the same offense.
VFM’s returned to the NEX for a few more Sundries. After dropping some people at the hotel, myself and a few other VFMs, joined the two new-comers on a tour of the base. The tour included drive-bys of past and present detention camps, the Marine base, the various neighborhoods, and a visit to the light house. Will’s brilliant expertise and wit was par to none.
There is no court session scheduled for Monday, January 6th. Council, both prosecution and defense, will spend the day conferring among themselves on details of the PTA’s. VFM’s will attend an open court session Tuesday, January 7th, when council continues these discussions with the judge. If everyone is on the same page, the PTA’s will go smooth.
Note: Pre-Trial Agreements are not plea deals. Plea deals are not what is happening in this case. Look for my next post examining what a Pre-Trial Agreement (PTA) actually entails.
© Deborah Garcia 2025, all rights reserved.
Feature Photo by Deborah Garcia – 1/4/2025; Dylan Garcia, son of David Garcia
Update in the case of U.S.v. KSM, et. al.
Posted on January 3, 2025 1 Comment
Feature Photo by Deborah Garcia – 1995: David Garcia
AS THE CLOCK UNWINDS, A DECISION ON THE JAN 6-17 9/11 PTA ENTRIES HEDGES ON THE BALANCE
Posted on January 2, 2025 2 Comments
January 1, 2025
2025 begins by ringing in the New Year with family in the south eastern corner of PA, idoling 100 miles from Andrew’s Air Force Base, after boarding my dog and driving 430 miles from Burlington Vermont. This first box on the calendar finds me checking email periodically for a notice from the Pentagon if my son and I, along with eight other VFMs, will be boarding a flight to Cuba in less than 60 hours.
Why? Because I was selected in a newly installed War Court lottery for a chair in the GTMO gallery for hearings set for January 6th, to witness the guilty plea entry of the planner of the “planes plan” attacks on September 11th, 2001, in which my husband’s body, and my livelihood were spontaneously rendered to dust. It is the only lottery I have ever won.
December 31st, the prosecution (government) filed an appeal to the DoJ to issue a Continuance (delay) for a decision on the plea entries until Jan. 27th. This action follows the plan laid out by prosecution during the final week of hearings November 11-15th, when the Military Judge reinstated the Pre-Trial Agreements (PTAs), ruling that Secretary of Defense (SoD) Lloyd Austin’s August 2nd revocation of the plea deals signed by three of 9/11 detainees on July 31st, was both untimely and unlawful influence by Congress (as he’d assigned this authority to the Convening Authority, BG Susan Escallier). November 25th, SoD Austin reacted by stripping the CA from all three terrorism cases at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base assigning himself as the sole arbiter of plea deals during the waning days of the Biden administration. Following the Military Judge’s December 13th docketing order for entry of the PTAs beginning Jan. 6th, the prosecution called on the the U.S. Court of Military Commission Review board (CMCR) to provide a ruling on the matter. Anticipating the outcome of this ruling, the prosecution prepared an appeal for a continuance. Family members present for the Military Judge’s ruling on November 12th, were briefed by the prosecution of their planned course of action to file a Writ of Mandamus/prohibition with the CMCR followed by an appeal to the DoJ for a continuance and possibly an emergency Stay until at least Jan. 27th in order to buy more time to pursue further review in the D.C. Circuit Court. As the clock unwinds, a decision on the scheduled Jan 6-17 PTA entries in the Military Court hedges on the balance.
Below is a current timeline of the PTA seesaw.
December 30th: The CMCR denies the government’s petition (writ) to vacate the military judge’s ruling regarding the pretrial agreements. This puts the PTAs back on track for guilty plea hearings. The CMCR agrees with the Military Judge that the secretary of defense did not have the authority to revoke the accused’s existing PTAs because the accused had started performance of the PTA’s. They did, however, rule that the SoD has the authority as the principal assistant to the president in all matters relative to the Department of Defense to appoint himself as a convening authority for the PTAs. “He is the superior Convening Authority.”
December 24th: The proseution requests postponement of KSM‘s plea hearing until after January 27th — for time to consult with the department of justice lawyers to seek modification of the PTAs at the federal appeal circuit court.
December 16th: The prosecution submits a reply prohibition brief in support of its mandamus to the CMCR.
December 13th: The Military Judge, AF Lt Col Matthew N. McCall, issues his docketing order which indicated that the Pre-Trial Agreement court proceedings regarding Khalid Shaikh Mohammad (KSM) will occur during the first week of the session (6-10 January 2025) and that an additional scheduling order regarding the specific dates for Walid bin ‘Attash (WBS) and Mustafa al Hawsawi (MAH) will follow.
November 26: In response to the government’s/prosecution’s request, the CMCR assigns a panel of judges to address the prosecution’s request for expediting a briefing on the petition of the mandamus to advise on the military judge’s rulings in order to delay the January 6th PTA entries.
November 25th: SoD Lloyd Austin removes the CA, Susan Escallier, from all three terrorism cases at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center, assigning himself as the sole arbiter of plea deals. The cases: 9/11, U.S.S. Cole bombing, Bali nightclub bombings.
November 12th: The Military Judge Lt Col Matthew McCall, announces that the weeks of January 6th and 13th will be set for entering the PTAs; for KSM in the first week and for MAH and WBA in the second week. Travel orders to GTMO for council and staff are set into motion.
November 10th: The Military Judge grants the government’s/ prosecution’s motion to seek postponement of any pleas under the pretrial agreements so that the government has the opportunity to challenge the Commission’s ruling on the pretrial agreements before the U.S. Court of Military Commission Review (CMCR) appellate court.
November 6th: The Military Judge rules on the pre-trial agreements (PTA’s) for the three defendants announcing his ruling to void Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s memorandum, stating he did not withhold authority already given to and exercised by the CA, to rescind the PTAs ex post facto. He does not have the legal authority to withdraw the three pre-trial plea agreements reached with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad (KSM), Walid Mohammad Salih Mubarek Bin ‘Attash (MBA), and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi (MAH), which had been approved by the Convening Authority, Brig. Gen (Ret.) Susan Escallier, on July 31, 2024. The PTAs are reinstated, and the pre-trial hearing phases for the three defendants will end upon their guilty pleas being entered to the court at a date to be set by the Judge.
August 2: SoD Lloyd J. Austin III revokes the PTAs reinstating it as a death penalty case. The CA, BG Susan K. Escallier, senior Defense Department official, is relieved of her oversight of the case, leaving her on the other two Military Commisions cases (U.S.S. Cole & Bali nightclub bombings). The SoD assumes direct oversight of the 9/11 case.
August 1: Senator John Cotton (R-Ark) introduces a bill, “ Justice for 9/11 act”; 1. The plea agreements and judgments “do not preclude trials.” 2. Sentencing of death shall be available. 3. Confinement shall be at the U.S. Naval Base Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in solitary confinement; no psychiatric treatment; no transfer to the continental U.S.
August 1: Lead prosecutor, Clay Trivett, formally notifies the military judge that an agreement was reached, and both sides were eager to move forward with entering plea agreements (PTAs) to the court. The military judge seals the PTAs until next year when a jury is empanelled.
July 31: Ms. Escallier approves a prosecution plea deal with the man accused of masterminding the September 11th plot with KSM and two other defendants. In exchange for pleading guilty, they would serve life in prison instead of someday possibly facing a death sentence.
July 29 and 30, 2024: The prosecution/government, and the accused, signed stipulations of fact, and the accused sign PTAs.
October 8, 2023: Susan Escallier is formally appointed as the Convening Authority for the accused in the Military Court.
September 4, 2023: Congress denies consent for the terms of the proposed PTA’s. This recommendation is made by the secretary of defense Lloyd Austin III, with no rationale. Chief government prosecutor Rear Adm Aaron Rugh and his prosecution team state that “a guilty plea achieves judicial finality” because a guilty plea nullifies the right to appeal.
August 1, 2023: A letter sent by the prosecution to notify of plans to meet with and inform VFMs states, “a guilty plea is conclusive evidence of guilt.”
March 15, 2022: The prosecution enters PTAs for the accused of the 9/11 attacks, commuting the death penalty, in exchange for guilty pleas and maximizing punishment of life in prison.
February 17, 2018: The Convening Authority, Harvey Rishikof, is severed from the 9/11 case for entering into plea discussions with defense teams. He is accused of “unlawful influence.”
Mid 2017: The Convening Authority, Harvey Rishikof, fails in an effort to secure PTAs with defense teams.
May 5, 2012: Five detainees are arraigned and charged with planning and facilitating the 9/11 attacks.
April, 2012: A Convening Authority is assigned and referred to death penalty charges regarding the detainees accused in the 9/11 attacks.
April 2011: The 9/11 case is sent back to the Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The government’s prosecution team would start afresh under a new Military Commissions system with bans on evidence obtained from cruel treatment, and with enhanced defense rights to counsel.
January 2009: President Obama takes office and immediately suspends the Military Commissions system, issuing an executive order to close the detention center within one year. Later in 2009, President Obama’s administration decides to hold 9/11 trials in the lower Manhattan Federal Court, further delaying proceedings.
December 2008: The five 9/11 defendants state that they want to plead guilty. However, the Military Judge, Army Col Stephen Henley, determines that Ramzi bin al Shibh and Mustafa al Hawsawi could not make decisions about their own cases due to their questionable mental competence.
September-December 2006: KSM, MAH, AAA, RBS, and WBA are transferred from black sites under CIA custody to FBI custody in the detention center at the United States Naval Base Guntanamo Bay, Cuba.
Updates will be added to this post ad tempus — staying the continuous discontinuity of my 9/11 life.
© Deborah Garcia 2025, all rights reserved
Feature Photo by Deborah Garcia – 2024
Peace on Earth
Posted on December 24, 2024 1 Comment
Holiday tidings to my writing, support, justice, and 9/11 family members for your readership and engagement. Praise to the ancestors’ eternal lanterns. You are the light and the gift.
Photos by Deborah Garcia: Feature photo – David Garcia – 1995; Stevie and flag – 12/2024
TURNING POINT
Posted on December 22, 2024 2 Comments
On this Winter Solstice of 2024, obscure orders are being convened upon by a panel of judicial (volunteers) chosen by an obscure Military Commissions board that will determine if the 9/11 case against the planners who murdered my husband along with 2,976 fellow civilians on American soil, in one single day.
Three of the 9/11 planners detained at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base are set to enter guilty pleas beginning Jan. 6.
The Questions: 1. Does the military judge, AF Col. (ret) Matthew McCall, retain legal authority to reinstate the plea deals after SoD Lloyd Austin revoked them after they were signed by the CA (Convening Authority) Susan Escallier? 2. Will the CMCR (Court of Military Commission Review) rule that the Writ of Mandamus filed by the government prosecutor to uphold SoD Austin’s decision, is appropriate, before Jan. 6?
The Writ is Judge McCall’s 29-page ruling that SoD Austin’s action was outside of his authority and untimely. Once the CMCR panel of (volunteer) judges resolves the writ the Prosecution could (likely will) appeal to the D.C. District Court for further review to request a Stay.
Will I board a flight at Andrews AFB January 4th?
On January 20th, The DoD (Department of Defense) and District Government offices shift. And as quick as my husband disappeared in smoke, so may this case.
At this turning point in the calendar, the case of the 9/11 conspirators has reached another axis which could reset the movements on the never-ending pendulum of Justice. Will finality approach its furthest or culminating point in this darkness?
© 2024 Deborah Garcia, all rights reserved.
9/11 PRE-TRIAL HEARINGS: BRIEFING WITH THE DEFENSE – GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL STATION, CUBA
Posted on November 23, 2024 Leave a Comment
11/13/2024 – (Wednesday, 5-7:00 PM)
Members of defense counsel present: Gary Sowards (Lead Learned Counsel – Khalid Shaikh Mohammad/KSM); Maj. Mike Leahy (Learned Counsel, Air Force – KSM); Matthew Engle (Lead Civilian Learned Counsel – Walid bin Attash/WBA); Marian D. Messing (Mil. Def. Counsel, Army – WBA); Suzanne Lachelier (Learned Counsel – Mustafa Al Hawsawi / MAH); Capt. Patrick Tipton (Learned Counsel, Air Force – MAH); Tammy Krause (Defense-Victim Outreach specialist /DVO). Two other members of defense also present.
Eight Family members and VWAP support personnel gathered with members of the three defense teams active in the proposed plea deals (PTAs) in the conference room of the Navy Gateway Inns and Suites.
What does it feel like to commune with the people defending the rights of your terrorists? The American citizens whose duty it is to provide the best representation possible to their clients— the soulless extremists who murdered your loved ones for no other reason than ideologic spectacle, altering your history, entangling you with foreign conflict and international law— take position in a boardroom with their elbows on the table. Every maneuver is deployed with cunning syntax, ensnaring you in the burgeoning chain of administrivia and forensic art of due process for the interests of the most notorious international terrorists who murdered your loved ones, razed the innocence of your children, and waged holy war on America.
Following a roundtable of introductions, a Family Member asked each defense team member to briefly share their personal experience on September 11th, 2001. The telling moved around the room like a sine wave, with a flattening of defense counsel accounts followed by a lengthening amplitude of Family Member stories oscillating with sharp infuriate peaks and tearful dips.
The over-arching slant was the telling of the defense teams collective remote memory of hearing the news, observing the towers hit and fall from screens, if they were old enough Reflecting distance. All, except for one who lived in Washington, D.C., were in different parts of the country. Each escaped direct loss. For two, there were no memories at all due to age, the ages of my own children 23 years ago. Spared by the shield of innocence, they relayed faint memories of their parents making phone calls, sending them outside to play: “We went to school and our parents went on with business as usual.” “I remember the emotion on the teachers’ faces.” “I was in high school, it was a disorienting time.” “You’re of two minds, my heart is with you.” One attorney said, “Assigned this case, I have empathy and sympathy for my client.”
The burgeoning chain of administrivia and forensic art of due process
The Families’ experiences echoed a prevailing contiguity, reflecting proximity. A plurality of blunt impact arousing rippling waves of heartache and fury: “Terrorism is mental warfare.” “I live with PTSD and lost my career. Moments before the first impact, my husband called his son (from Window’s on the World)—I am on top of the world! “It is the ceaseless death.” “My dad is dead. I lost both of my parents that day.” “My life is focused on taking care of my parents.” “How do you deal with a philosophy that only sees your demise?” “This case has only one solution!” “Our hopes were that we were going to find people alive…” “My children’s worlds came to an end that day.” “It shows how quickly our lives can change.” “The event that preceded this was the 1993 attack, killing six people.” “This war on terror is not over.”
Mr. Sowards explained, “as his lawyer, my job is to defend him, to get him the best result. What I hope is that you understand that whatever it is I’m doing for Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, as a capital attorney, is to get to know the client as much as possible. I want to do what can cause you less pain. We owe this to you, to hear what you want to talk about, so we are aware of this. We’ve told the government in terms of negotiations and plea deals, we want to make sure that we have negotiated the deal that gets the most expansive result. It’s things like the poetry (extending his gaze and hand toward me) that puts us in touch with what has happened.”
Causality of less pain? What is the metric? A Year? A Decade? A Half century? Frequent Flyer miles? Units of Zoloft? Bone fragment count? Number of breaths… left?
I have empathy and sympathy for my client.
Maj. Mike Leahy, Air Force Atty (KSM)
Stunned by Wednesday’s abrupt ending of the session following the prosecution’s questioning of the witness, we wanted to know why the defense team decided not to cross-examine Dr. Welner? Mr. Sowers said, “A lawyerly strategic decision was made. The testimony felt mundane and trite.” Here’s why:
- “At the end of the day, Dr. Welner really didn’t offer much new information into the case. As we saw it, much of what he was doing was interpreting things. All other witnesses have been people who were boots on the ground. We want information from them that we don’t know. Welner is given the case files and told to read through them, watch videos, and offer interpretations. Many of the things he talked about regarding the treatment in the CIA program is many degrees removed from what happened — A summary of a CIA officer somewhere wrote their account of what Ammar (aka Ali / AAA) said. He (Welner) is so many degrees removed from what happened, that we collectively didn’t think it would benefit anyone to challenge his interpretation. At the end of the day, the raw information is what we want. What we don’t have access to.”
- “We had a defense psychiatrist testify on Ammar’s (aka Ali/AAA) experience and health conditions. We’re really focused on the brain science: The brain impact of the experiences; on how they’re encoded in the brain; the science of the effects; PTSD, etc. Welner was a legally-minded brain scientist.”
- The attorney’s continued to state, “We were observers. The prosecution’s default is to repurpose sites that were CIA black sites. What we have to recognize is that wanting flesh for flesh is a different issue than a legal issue. Mitchell and Jessen described things that were very unpleasant.”
Mr. Sowers recants, “I know that the world shifted into an existential threat. People were telling the CIA interrogators that we were facing nuclear holocaust, so they tortured people because they thought they had to get answers. Technically it’s illegal, but I understand why they did it. They crossed a line because they thought they had to do it to save (our) lives.”
I want to do what can cause you less pain.
Mr. Gary sowards, Lead Learned Defense Counsel (KSM)
I can’t help to question, What is illegal? What is the law? What is law for international terrorism waged by belligerent enemy combatants? If the principles and regulations are established in a community by some authority to create a system of rules, which is applicable to the people whether legislative or judicial, then who are the people? Define community. The attacks of September 11th, 2001 on American soil were an unprecedented event that thrust the globe into lockdown. What is the law? It’s taken over 23 years for congressional and legal counsel to not only define the law, but to determine to whom the principles apply. This re-shuffling of the deck chairs on the Titanic has divided America, our communities, our allegiance. These mass murderers have divided the families of victims, conjuring our own government to further codify micro-divisions of the victimized within the manifold of the undulating footprints of 9/11. Are we repurposing the establishment of the principles of national protections to our citizens or to our foreign marauders? Who is re-shaping the law? The victimized or the victimizers? Who are the victimized in the War on Terror? The unfortunate innocents punching time cards or the vicious immorals plunging planes into the histories of 2,977 families in one blow?
We’ve over-thought this. The case has been over-thought. The law has been over-thought.
A family member remarked, “given the rollercoaster ride we’ve all been on, the writ (of mandamus), now that we are on the one-yard line, what’s your opinion that we’re going to get to the goal-line on the 4th? With another mission coming in, based on the filing of the writ, more delays are added into a time-line of no resolution? The Judge picked January 4th to give government a reasonable amount of time to seek CMCR review (U.S. Court of Military Commissions Review), to give the court time to issue a stay for the plea hearings. Did Secretary of Defense Austin have the right to revoke? Will the judge’s decision to reverse hold? I hope the CMSR will look at the 29-page plea deal and not delay. Unfortunately, Austin is pushing this ordeal. If they Stay it, the case goes into orbit.”
Members of the defense concluded, “the prospects are that the Secretary of Defense’s term is about to come to an end. Is the decision binding to Austin or does it get transferred to the next Secretary of Defense? He’s in the same bind. A new Convening Authority is also coming in. The problem is if someone says I want death then the case no longer is about how long it takes, it’s about how they might be in favor to continue the push ahead.
© 2024 Deborah Garcia, all rights reserved
Cover photo by Deborah Garcia, taken with permission by the Marine Corps, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
9/11 PRE-TRIAL HEARINGS UPDATE: 2 BRIEFINGS WITH THE PROSECUTION – Guantanamo Bay Naval Station, Cuba
Posted on November 16, 2024 Leave a Comment
November 12, 2024: (Tuesday, 1:30-3:00 PM)
Lead Team Prosecutor, Clayton Trivett; Attorney, Nicole Tray; Chief of Litigation Support, Meghan Gentry
Tuesday, at 11:00 AM, Military Judge, Air Force Col. Matthew N. McCall, abruptly called to end the 53rd session of the 9/11 pre-trial hearings in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, exuberantly bounding from the bench, with a wave, “See you in January!”
After family members left the courthouse, we met with the prosecution team following lunch to discuss Judge McCall’s decision to re-instate the plea deals and set a date for the first two weeks in January for entering the pleas. This has taken a couple of left turns this week, and the prosecution wanted our feedback on how we were feeling as well as Dr. Welner’s analysis of the camp 7 reporting D101 CSRT (Tribunals). There was a consensus among the families of exhaustion, confusion, and qualm over the un-countable political and litigation influences that keep the case of our murdered loved ones in a perpetual state of intermittent paralysis, especially with the new administration swearing in on January 20th.
Everyone agreed that Dr. Welner’s testimony could not have gone any better, breaking down the defense’s mental health argument that they’ve built over the years. About a thirty-minute audio-video feed was presented to the court and gallery this morning exhibiting a conversation between Ali (AAA) (aka Baluchi) and another al-Qaeda prisoner, Ahmed Gailani. The audio was in Arabic, transcribed in English, and required rapid reading skills to fully grasp the conversation between the two al-Qaeda terrorists in Camp 7. We complained that the captions of the translations were small and difficult for observers to read in the gallery, which includes the VFMs (Victim’s Family Members).
Mr. Clayton Trivett asked what accommodations we would like to ask the court to improve. We requested larger screens in the gallery. “They need to do a better job of using the real estate on the screens,” commented a VFM. Mr. Trivett said he would request a larger monitor for the VFM’s in the gallery.
We also mentioned some of the issues we encountered with military personnel policing enforcement of gallery rules that had not been enforced to this date and felt inappropriate for our group, as follows: assigned seating that was to remain throughout the session; a seating chart with our names on it; no talking or whispering for which it became clear that we were being monitored on cameras by the MP; the soldiers assigned as VFM escorts for all activities through the week are suddenly not considered escorts for us. The MP announced that there must be one escort certified by Military Police (MP) standards for every ten people. We were a group of twelve total (9 VFM’s, 1 VWAP support person, and three Army VWAP reservist escorts. Since only one of our escorts fit this category, an escort assigned to the GAO’s and the press, positioned on the other side of the curtain, was assigned to watch over us as well. This meant that the curtain separating us from the NGOs and the press must be partially pulled back. A situation VFM’s are unaccustomed to, and one that makes myself particularly uncomfortable. “GTMO isn’t a 23-yr mission, it’s one mission played out 23 times,” said Mr. Trivett. He sided with us by expressing that rules keep changing for everyone. Attorneys and VFMs are not military personnel, however military rules are being placed on us, in a rigid manner.
Counsel discussed the highlights of the session and case and replied to questions.
The primary issues addressed:
- Was Ali able to give a voluntary statement in 2007 during FBI interviews in the weeks after transfer to Camp 7 at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba?
- Exploration of Bias
- Why didn’t the defense cross-examine Dr. Welner?
Mr. Trivett explained that they were as surprised as we were that the defense did not cross-examine the witness. Apparently, the defense lead attorney for Ali, James Connell, informed Jeff Goharing (the prosecution attorney questioning Dr. Welner in the RHR), during the fifteen-minute morning break that he did not have any questions.
Why didn’t the defense challenge him?
Perhaps the defense believed that the Judge had already made up his mind and will suppress confession statements made by his client, Ali, before Dr. Welner took the witness chair. Mr. Trivett believes that this will probably occur. Dr. Hanrahan was supposed to be the defense witness but was never present. James Connell may have weighed that his counsel were not as well prepared and knowledgeable of the entire record, since thousands of pages were involved. Or were they weighing in that they don’t have a typical expert consultant to cross-examine the expert. “Their desire to get the litigation done, with this judge, may have led the defense team to conclude that they’re better off not asking this guy any questions. We don’t know where Ali’s head is and whether or not he is permitting them to respond… You can say whatever you want, but don’t ever say that what I said wasn’t voluntary, says Mr. Trivett. Ali is challenging his Resilience. He’s a very self-critical terrorist, a proud Jihadist.”
Dr. Welner is the most exciting witness we’ve had in this case. “Welner has presence, is captivating, and intelligent. We were all locked in. This makes it harder for the judge to suppress the statements.” He highlighted what was and was not backed-up in the record, and what his opinion of that was. The convergence of data argument. He pulled together data from a twenty-year record!
Regarding Pre-trial Agreements (PTAs):
The Chief Prosecutor, Rear Adm. Aaron C. Rugh, has requested counsel to seek a Writ of Mandamus. The Judge ruled that the SoD, Lloyd Austin, had no authority to revoke the plea deals. Austin wants the death penalty. However, the prosecution is bound to work on an appeal for Judge McCall’s ruling because the prosecution works under the Secretary of State, a representative of the government. This is contrary to the plea deals that the prosecution has been supporting since 2008. They are constrained under bureaucratic policy. Mr. Trivett expresses, “the likelihood of winning is small because it’s not really an appeal, it’s an extraordinary Writ. People advising SoD Austin are not military justice personnel. If the CMCR (U.S. Court of Military Commissions Review) says the Writ is denied, or if they don’t respond in 45 days, then we will follow with Judge McCall’s ruling. Bottom line: The plea deals are happening.”
What is Writ of Mandamus? It is usually used in situations where a government official has failed to act as legally required or has taken a legally prohibited action. Judge McCall has ruled that SoD Austin’s action to revoke the PTA’s two days after the Convening Authority, Brigadier General Susan Escallier, had approved the PTA’s, was unlawful.
Family members asked, what stipulations are in the plea deal.
Unclassified: There are three main provisions in the three agreements:
- If a breach of the PTAs occur for reasons other than listed in the PTA, then the government can’t pursue a capital case in the future. The reason for this deal is that they didn’t want to sit on death row endlessly nor sit in solitary confinement forever.
- When the accused enter their guilty pleas we get: all the evidence we want; an appellate waiver; they plead guilty to all charges on the charge sheet; no limitation on what sentence they get and no guarantee of what is stipulated. They start at zero at a sentencing trial. We intend to ask for thousands of years for all of them. KSM—2,976+ yrs. The others are expected to get at least 1,000 years. The jury will hear all of the LHMs. No Appellate waivers—withdrawal of all their motions, waiving all appeals. The combined juried trial and sentencing phase will go through with certainty in a year or two, and they will be guilty forever. In contrarst, pursuit of the death penalty will have appeals going into infinity. The likelihood of going through a contested case, getting death, appeals, and ultimately execution while still alive, gets smaller and smaller over the years. We may get the death penalty, but they will never be executed. If they die before finality they will be found not guilty by law.
IMPORTANT: They are all found accountable and they create the historical record.
IMPORTANT: This doesn’t mean there won’t be a trial. With the deal, we have a guarantee that all of the evidence will come in. The prosecution wants evidence obtained from overseas, from bin Laden’s house, there are two important pieces of evidence tying Moussaoui and KSM from a desktop in bin Laden’s house. Mr. Trivett said, “We have a disc with all of this evidence that has been kept up until 2011. There is also a video of KSM and a video with the hijackers. Their motive, reasoning behind it, and principal reason for joining Jihad will come out pre-trial.”
- They will stay in their current conditions at GTMO until sentencing happens. Currently, they are in a communal custody situation. Once sentenced, the prosecution expects that they will be in solitary confinement. There is no ruling that they stay at GTMO. However, there is a provision that there are no government funds appropriated to move them. If that is lifted, they can be moved. Congress is preventing this based on Obama’s ruling in 2008 to prevent them from being transferred to Federal court. If moved to U.S. soil, they would have different rights. This is a law that is passed every year. There is nothing in the plea deal that guarantees they will remain at GTMO. These are non-binding recommendations. The PTAs give us finality awarded and executed in the next few years, predictably in 2026.
A family member said, “So what we are doing is negotiating with the terrorists!”
Regarding Ramzi bin al Shibh (RBS), there is some thought that he wants the same deal as the others. Likely, Ali as well, in the future. Ali has not entered a plea deal, waiting it out to see what the others get. “We are basically negotiating with terrorists,” says team counsel, Nicole Tray.
The lead prosecuting attorney and the team apologized to the families for the emotional whiplash we’ve all experienced with this.
After PTAs it will be a much shorter appellate process than what has occurred up to now. 1-2 years. The appellate process only applies to the terms in the 29-page PTA.
Mr. Trivett was surprised that the judge granted his oral motion to move plea entries to after January 4th. “The timing was janky.” One day after the election, legal teams only had 11 days to pull this together. “It doesn’t look good. If the CMCR hasn’t decided by January 5th, the judge has stated that he will proceed with the plea deals. Mr. Trivett will be required to request an emergency stay, leading us into the Trump administration. KSM will be separate, the other two will be together with their own cases.
There was a belief that the current administration supported the PTAs. “We positively endorse the PTAs, says Clayton Trivett. It’s the case call for judicial finality. The prosecution was ordered to appeal the judge’s ruling. We always felt this case deserved the death penalty. We were forced into this plea situation 27 months ago. This is not necessarily the prosecution’s path, we would have gone for the death penalty, however this is the best scenario for what was handed down to us.”
A family member asked about the risk of double jeopardy. Mr. Trivett explained that there are two components to the dual sovereignty doctrine of the double jeopardy clause in the Constitution:
- You can’t be charged with the same crime by the same sovereign. The Military Court is the same sovereign as the federal court (same offense by same sovereign.)
- There is nothing that says you can’t prosecute the same charge in the same sovereign (both state and federal government). Nor does it protect a person from being prosecuted by multiple states for the same act. Once tried in military court, they cannot then be tried in Federal court.
The CIA RDI program has had enormous consequences on our litigation. The government did it, but it has an impact on our case. The PTAs will be discussed at length with families once they are accepted when the case goes from trial to penalty phase.
Ramzi Binalshibh can’t plea while deemed incompetent. Though he may be exaggerating some of his symptoms, he has had consistent and persistent delusions and hallucinations for many years. He may turn around by the end.
KSM will not be a litigation case, it’s more of a justification case. The juried trial and sentencing will take place no later than 18 mos. from when a guilty plea is presented. The others are 22-24 mos. after their plea entries. Our asking of thousands of years is guaranteed for KSM. The others are expected to get no less than half of that.
After the briefing, lively discussions continued among family members. What we all share in common is that our case is complex. The murders of our loved ones is mired in political administrivia, capitalism, and forensic art. Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is a blurred cove in the Caribbean Sea where 9/11 family members soldier windward with those scripting our fate. To bear witness by presence. Bound by a shared event, our unique stories come together to form the collective narrative.
11/14/2024 (Friday, 1:30-4:00):
The Prosecution team conducted a briefing today primarily regarding the case of Ali Abdul Aziz Ali (aka Ammar Baluchi). A PowerPoint was presented with “controlled unclassified information” — imbedded evidence in the form of photos, documents, receipts, writings, D101 FBI interview confessions, and transcripts of the audio-video conversation between Ali and Ahmed Ghailani at Camp 7. The briefing was to aid the families in understanding the charging theory behind the case. Though riveting with brilliant displays, not all family members were able to remain through the entirety, due to the strong images and the volume of evidence and vehement declarations of hatred towards Americans.
The families were escorted into Courtroom 1 to take seats in the jury boxes, equipped with monitors for every person. Displayed on the screens:
USA vs KHALID SHAIKH MOHAMMED, WALID MUHAMMAD SALIH MUBARAK BIN ‘ATTASH, RAMZI BINALSHIBH, ALI BADUL AZIZ ALI, MUSTAFA AHMED ADAM AL HAWASAWI
The American flag displayed beneath.
The Principal Liability: If you aid, abet, counsel, or command you are guilty of co-conspiracy. This is the theory in trying the case. This is a capital case that is being filed under Criminal Code 18 USC (Prosecution under Law of War under Military Commissions Act).
THE CHARGES:
CHARGE I: VIOLATION OF 10 U.S.C. – CONSPIRACY
The accused entered into an agreement with leaders of al-Qaeda to aid, counsel, or command to murder multitudes of civilians. The accused knew the unlawful purpose. The accused knowingly committed an overt act in order to accomplish the same objective or purpose of the agreement or enterprise.
CHARGE II: VIOLATION OF 10 U.S.C. – ATTACKING CIVILIANS
CHARGE III: VIOLATION OF 10 U.S.C. – ATTACKING CIVILIAN OBJECTS
CHARGE 1V: VIOLATION OF 10 U.S.C. – MURDER IN VIOLATION OF LAW OF WAR
CHARGE V: VIOLATION OF 10 U/S/C/ – DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY IN VIOLATION OF THE LAW OF WAR
CHARGE VI: VIOLATION OF 10 U.S.C. – HIJACKING OR HAZARDING A VESSEL OF AIRCRAFT
CHARGE VII: VIOLATION OF 10 U.S.C – TERRORISM
3 Points to Prove:
- Acts of War by al-Qaeda against the U.S. occurred before, during, and after 9/11. The U.S. has made efforts to counter their propaganda since 1998. We have been at war with al-Qaeda since Osama bin Laden (OBL) declared war against the U.S. in 1996. They clarified this with the 1998 Kenya and Tanzania Embassy bombings on American civilians. They had systematically launched attacks since August 1998 through September 11th, 2001.
- Establishing that 2,976 people were murdered because 19 al-Qaeda member hijackers intentionally crashed four airplanes into buildings in New York City, Washington D.C, and a field in Shanksville, PA. This is accomplished by identifying who the hijackers were and who financed them. This has to be proven: The planes that were hijacked, who hijacked them, and who witnessed them crash. There is one known video of a plane hitting the Pentagon through a grainy security camera. There is one video of the first WTC tower being hit by videographers who were on the ground filming a documentary. There is a cockpit data report recreating what happened on Flight 93, in Shanksville, PA.
- Establishing guilt of the planners. The accused aided, counseled, or commanded the hijackers. This is illustrated through multitudes of documents.
The three hours of detailed commentary, displays of raw evidence presented to families, and details of the Q&A are too extensive and sensitive to expound in this narrative.
The prosecution has 133 recordings of LHMs which are getting suppressed. Evidence presented included: receipts, bank notes, boarding passes, credit card and wire transfers, passports and Visa applications, written notes, objects found in the home of Osama bin Laden, and semi-redacted transcripts of conversations between al-Qaeda operatives and 9/11 conspirators. The evidence presented to us, unequivocally drew a solid timeline of the planning and execution of the attacks, a clear intent to harm as many people as possible, and the enterprise of co-conspirators involved in planning, financing (and transfers of funds), and carrying out the attacks on September 11th, 2001.
The perfidious, demoniacal acts of hatred and faceless edicts that ideological extremists have inflicted upon my life and that of my family, and continue to victimize people globally, is something I’ve had to shape my life around for twenty-three years. Now, the deepening exposition of the politicization and capitalization of the murder of my husband, of my son’s father, and our livelihoods has shifted how I feel about myself, yoked to this 9/11 life. I have always thought of my husband as the Victim of this murderous act of war, and myself and my son’s as Victimized. Today I left Courtroom 1 in Camp Justice feeling like a Victim for the first time. A Victim of Historical Meander. A Jumanji franchised by politicians and attorneys weaponizing and polarizing three generations of Victims and the Victimized in the ceaseless death.
For me, justice is redefined as FINALITY. Here’s what Justice means to the eight other people who attended the 53rd Session of pre-trial hearings in the Military Commissions’ prosecution of the 9/11 case – the 23rd year, 278th month, 8,483rd day of American life support and justice serving the murderers of our loved ones, 2,977 innocent individuals from 93 countries, and the interminable sickening uncountable deaths.
* FINALITY * ACCOUNTABILITY * FINALITY * TRANSPARENCY * TRUTH * FINALITY * DEATH * RESOLUTION * INEVITABLE
Featured in Cover Photo: Jack Ryan; Deborah Garcia-Me (WTC-1), VWAP Support Liaison, Grace Donegan (WTC-1), Julie B (WTC-1), Maureen Basnicki (Canada – WTC-1), Kevin Ryan (Rescue/Recovery), Colleen Kelly (WTC-1)
Photos by Deborah Garcia with permission of all VFM’s, U.S. Navy, OMC Victim’s Witness Assistance Program
© Deborah Garcia 2024, all rights reserved
9/11 PRE-TRIAL HEARINGS UPDATE: DAY 5 / NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA
Posted on November 14, 2024 Leave a Comment
November 12, 2024
Greetings from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, day 5 (3) in the final week of the 53rd session of the OMC pre-trial hearings on the 9/11 case.
Today’s open session began at 9:00 AM. Present in courtroom of Air Force Col. Judge Matthew N. McCall. Attending members of the prosecution team include lead attorney Clayton Trivett, Nicole Tate, Travis Howard and team analysts. In the RHR were Col. Joshua S. Bearden, Jeffrey Groharing, administrative members of the prosecution team and the prosecutions key witness, Dr. Michael Welner. Present defense members in the courtroom included Gary Sowards, lead counsel for KSM/MOH (Mohammad), Mr. Matthew Engle, lead counsel for WBA (bin ‘Attash), Mr. Walter Ruiz, lead counsel for MAH (Hawsawi), as well as other attorneys and administrative team members. In the RHR were Mr. James G. Connell, lead counsel for AAA (Ali/Baluchi). No accused were in the courtroom. KSM viewed live feed of the proceedings from the adjacent holding facility.
Housekeeping items include: Judge McCall mentions KSM/MOH is present in the holding facility talking with counsel. Proceedings can be translated to Arabic if requested. 1. The recommended conduct order requested to amend the trial conduct order, re: Guard Force members uniforms, and communication issues with the LSS. Administrivia between Guard Force and Military conduct orders, causing headaches moving KSM from the adjacent facility to the courtroom. 3. Judge McCall announced that we anticipate another late night of hearings today. 4. The judge asked the parties if they could extra dates to the hearing schedule to go forward with entry of the pleas, for weeks of January 4, and 11th, 2024. 4. Mr. Engle requested to enter the plea for bin Attash, due to an international obligation. Mr. Connell he can attend for the as long as the proceedings involve entry of pleas only, due to other obligations, asking to be excused from the other proceedings. The judge said he will put out an amended schedule order, with a result by end of today’s session.
Dr. Welner continued his expert witness testimony with question from the prosecution, Jeffrey Groharing at 9:30 AM. Addressed today were documents from Guantanamo Bay Naval Station, Camp Seven interviews conducted by the FBI with Dr. WK5-I.
Dr. Welner stated that initially, interrogators viewed Ali (AAA) as resistant and difficult regarding what he was disclosing through the CIA phases of interrogation. He continued to relate to the U.S. as “The Enemy.” The CIA had a mindset of no knowing what they didn’t know, fearing further attacks of large scale. They wanted to thwart these attacks. A document cites statements made by KSM, WAH, MAH, AAA, and RBS on in take include the following statements: “Killing you, fighting you, terrorizing you in large scale attacks are a great, legitimate duty in our organization. You are the last nation that has the right to kill civilians. We will attack you the way you’ve attacked us. We do not possess your military might. If our act of Jihad caused fear or terror then praise be to Allah, Our religion is a religion of fear to the enemy of God. We are terrorists to the bone! We asked to be near to God, when you fight and terrorize us, here is news; you will be greatly defeated in Afghanistan and Iraq and your fall will be just as blessed as the 9/11 day.”
Recordings of interviews were made during interview sessions and conversations between detainees through undisclosed prison premises, with hidden listening devices. A recording between Ali and an interviewer occurred as follows: “I said it like it happened. There are a lot of questions needing answers. The biggest answer is we take responsibility for 9/11. No one believes it in the whole world! They say the Sheikh works for the CIA, inside America!” ALI is angry over conspiracy theory rumors spread throughout the media that 9/11 was an inside job. They are proud of their efforts, it is their grand righteous act and they want all of the credit for it. “Most give facts without any shadow of a doubt. This was not a new idea. We’ve been working on it since August!” Ali claimed he was “depatterned/deradicalized” during EITs in the CIA RDI program. Dr. Welner states that this reflects an arc of the motivation and justification for 9/11 and how maintaining his decision for the world to appreciate the spectacle is directed at the Washington Post, the New York Times, and all the big newspapers. Ali and his brothers practiced “ideological homicide” with great celebration because the public was seeing it repeatedly in major news publications. Their confessions were not coercive. They came in intending to confess. Their perception of proof is most important to influence their confessions.
Another DIMS transcript describes a $5,000 transfer associated with Ali’s phone number and signature, an ID card to the Wall St. Exchange Center, an executive transfer, and Employment ID card with Modern Electronics Center with a passport number, and a record of a wire transfer to Waleed al Shehri (Saudi hijacker, Flight 175). Another transcript describes a wire transfer to Marwan al-Shehhi (Emirati hijacker, Flight 175) from Ali with the same addresses and transfer made in Ali’s true name (Ali Abdu Aziz Ali). There is a multiplicity of documents with powerful evidence of Ali’s, et. al. activities cementing proof. The captives confess because they wish to defend themselves.
A conversation (in Arabic) recorded on January 26, 2007, with Ali and detainee Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani through a wall outside of their holding cells, was played to the court. They conversed freely in a casual manner. Translations were cc’d on the screens shown in the courtroom and to the observers in the gallery, including family members. Ali recollects highly detailed information about a number of different and transactions. They discussed interviews with FBI agent James Fitzsimmons and Dr. WK5-I after their transfers to GTMO.
“There were a lot of things in the beginning in Africa…, says Ghailani. They are heard discussing the interviews of all of the brothers and the percentage of the completeness of their interviews. They also discussed their health, the weather, other prisoners and their resume of bombings. Ali spoke about a number of papers that identified him, including bank accounts in different places and passports. Ali said the government would be using these documents as evidence, repeating “these are disasters.” Ali compared himself to others who had more documentation about him which was more of a problem for him. The conversation lasted about twenty minutes. Dr. Michael Welner testified that his analysis of this interaction indicates “no evidence that the LHM (CIA) interviews triggered PTSD.” There are 289 pages of Stipulations of Fact in Ali’s case. Ahmed Ghailani is a Tanzanian conspirator of Al-Qaeda who confessed to involvement in the 1998 bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He was held at GTMO from 2007 to January 2009, was transferred to the prison in downtown NYC and tried in civilian court in the SDNY. He confessed to the bombings and is living out his life sentence without parole at USP McCreary, KY.
Dr. Welner testified that during the tribunals, Ali displayed increased anxiety, for which he was treated with Celexa. Ali represented himself as a “business man” and said he had no meaningful relationships and attachments with the people he made money transfers to and was aware of the documents related to him. Reportedly, he carried himself with discipline, utilizing opportunities to sit and reflect upon the situation, to take different approaches to employ a strategy in face of the proceedings in the CSRT (Combatant Status Review Tribunal). Welner points out that Ali had the “audacity to say he was helping the U.S.,” embracing his role in the U.S. attacks. Dr. Welner continues to express hat what Ali said in the CSRT and D101 are dramatically different. “His unguarded statements gave explanations to why he did what he did and to his motivation to express himself by proudly manipulating the court and media. The overarching question is did he have a psychosis that impacted his ability to participate in interviews? “There is no evidence of conditioned fear or cognitive/brain impact symptoms from alleged head injury from CIA EIT’s that would compromise his participation in the LHMs,” attested Dr. Welner.
The court took a fifteen-minute break at 10:50 AM.
Upon returning from break, Dr. Welner was abruptly dismissed. Judge McCall said, “You may no longer be working for the government, but you may continue to consult with prosecution.”
Judge McCall addressed travel orders for counsel and staff, announcing that the weeks of January 6 and 13th will be set for entering the plea deals; for KSM in the first week and for al Hawsawi (MAH) and bin ‘Attash WBA in the second week, after which time he emphatically pronounced, “The rest of this week and next week is cancelled. Commission is in recess. See you in January!” Judge Matthew N. McCall quickly vacated the bench.
This news came as a shock to the families, NGO’s, and press in the Gallery, as well as the VWAP staff back in the trailer who were viewing hearings on CCTV. The family members were escorted to the VWAP trailer where we deliberated over pizza. We were expecting two more full days of witness cross-examination. What happened? Did the defense need more time to cross-examine Dr. Welner? Was Dr. Welner’s testimony so solid that the defense saw no benefit for cross-examination? Does someone have a personal emergency?
Dear victim family members, please consider attending even a single day at a CCTV site. You are not required to attend every day of a session. Your presence shows the counsel that these proceedings are important and the tireless work of prosecutors to bring our case(s) to justice are appreciated. The presence of family members is strongly encouraged at the Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and the CCTV (Closed-Circuit Television) sites states-side. Please contact the VWAP office at the Pentagon email address below to receive the next scheduled hearings for 2025.
Families of those who died on 9/11, First Responders (NYPD/FDNY/PAPD) and families of First Responders who have died or been diagnosed with post-9/11-related illnesses, or were injured on 9/11, are eligible to travel to GTMO to observe the pre-trail sessions. Please contact the VWAP office at: osd.pentagon.omc.list.vwap@mail.mil and they will send you the paperwork necessary for travel. Added benefits of attending sessions at GTMO include meeting for briefings and Q&A with prosecution and defense teams and meeting with media, at your discretion. Most importantly, whether you attend session in Cuba or at CCTV sites, is the privilege to convene and share in discussions with support staff other family members.
If you wish to attend the proceedings at either of the CCTV locations available, please email Danielle Reddan, Director of VWAP (Victim’s Witness Assistance Program): osd.pentagon.omc.list.vwap@mail.mil . The CCTV sites are considered an extension of the courtroom and are operational during all pen proceedings. The sites for most sessions are Fort Devens, MA; Fort Hamilton, NY; Joint Base McGuire/Dix/Lakehurst, NJ; Fort Meade, MD. It is strongly recommended that you RSVP to ensure a seamless security check at any site, even if you have visited previously. Please note that anyone requesting access onto the above-listed military installations must present a passport or ID card that is compliant with Homeland Security’s Real ID Act. In other words, driver’s license, non-driver’s ID, or passport.
© Deborah Garcia 2024, all rights reserved
