Prosecutors drop Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confession appeal to protect 2028 trial for alleged 9/11 mastermind

Military prosecutors will move ahead with the trial against the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks without a key confession, a decision made to avoid further delays in the long-awaited proceedings scheduled for 2028.

The federal government has decided not to appeal a recent ruling by a military judge that threw out statements made by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in 2007. 

The decision means Mohammed's statements to the FBI cannot be used at trial.

"An appeal could jeopardize the hard-earned June 5, 2028, trial date," the prosecution team's liaison to victims wrote in a letter Friday — a week before the 25th anniversary of the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, sources familiar with the matter told The New York Post.

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Appeals can take years to resolve, an outcome military prosecutors want to avoid given the series of delays that have prolonged the wait for victims' families to receive justice. Mohammed and his alleged co-conspirators — Walid bin Attash, Mustafa al-Hawsawi, and Ammar al-Baluchi — are scheduled to go on trial in June 2028.

Prosecutors initially planned to use a confession obtained from Mohammed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he has been held for nearly two decades.

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Lt. Col. Michael Schrama set the trial date last month before suppressing the confession. He cited "severe coercion" and noted that Mohammed did not have an opportunity to consult with an attorney.

Mohammed and two of his co-defendants had agreed to a plea deal with the Biden administration in 2024 that would have spared them the death penalty.

The deal was subsequently revoked following public outcry, resulting in further lengthy litigation.

Meanwhile, 9/11 families have asked the Trump administration to declassify documents on Saudi Arabia's alleged role in the attacks.