Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Faces June 5, 2028 Trial as 9/11 Case Nears 27 Years Without Verdict
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 11
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Faces June 5, 2028 Trial as 9/11 Case Nears 27 Years Without Verdict
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 11
Summary
June 5, 2028 is the tentative trial date a military judge set for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and three co-defendants, extending the 9/11 prosecution to nearly 27 years after almost 3,000 people were killed.
A recent ruling excluding Mohammed’s 2007 FBI statements — deemed tainted by coercive CIA treatment — highlighted the legal barriers still threatening the case, and prosecutors declined to appeal to avoid further delay.
The judge pushed the start 18 months beyond prosecutors’ proposed January 2027 date to address unresolved pretrial disputes in a case already disrupted by torture-related evidence fights, a failed plea deal, the pandemic and repeated judge changes.
Families and first responders said the delays have become part of the trauma, with some fearing older relatives may never see a verdict after the defendants were arraigned in 2012 and Mohammed was first captured in 2003.
The case remains in Guantánamo’s military commissions after an abandoned 2009 plan for a Manhattan federal trial and a blocked 2024 plea agreement, leaving one of the deadliest U.S. terror cases still unresolved.
As we mark 25 years since 9/11, will the revoked plea deals ultimately derail the long-awaited 2028 Guantánamo trial?
Can the military commission system overcome its own bureaucratic hurdles to finally deliver a verdict before the end of the decade?
How did past coercive interrogations inadvertently create a decades-long legal nightmare that continues to delay justice for the masterminds?
9/11 on Trial: Why the Guantánamo Prosecution Remains Stalled After 27 Years
Overview
The 9/11 prosecution has faced a 27-year delay, rooted in the CIA’s use of torture on suspects after their capture. This torture tainted later FBI 'clean-team' confessions, leading a military judge to rule them inadmissible and weakening the government’s case. The military commission system, lacking constitutional safeguards and a right to a speedy trial, has allowed endless pretrial disputes and delays. As a result, victims’ families remain frustrated and divided, while legal experts doubt the scheduled June 2028 trial will happen. The U.S. government’s choice to bypass federal courts for an ad hoc system has damaged its moral authority and set a troubling global precedent.