Biden refuses to grant some of the conditions that 9/11 defendants were seeking in plea negotiations

By AAMER MADHANI and ELLEN KNICKMEYER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has refused to approve conditions that lawyers for the defendants in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks had sought in a possible plea bargain in the case. That’s according to a White House National Security Council official. The official was not authorized to comment and spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity. Military prosecutors and defense lawyers have been exploring a possible plea bargain in the al-Qaida attacks for more than a year. The plea bargain would have the men plead guilty and serve life sentences in exchange for being spared risk of the death penalty. Biden had been asked to agree to provide guarantees, including that the men would be spared solitary confinement.