Judge throws out confession by alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

A military judge has suppressed a key confession made by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, ruling that statements delivered to FBI investigators nearly two decades ago were not given voluntarily. The decision by military judge Lt. Col. Michael Schrama represents a significant setback for the federal government’s long-delayed prosecution of Mohammed, who has been held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since 2003, along with several other defendants who are awaiting trial.

Guantanamo Interrogations and CIA Torture Precedent

The suppressed statements stem from a four-day interrogation conducted by the FBI at Guantanamo Bay in January 2007. Years prior to those sessions, Mohammed was captured and held by the CIA, which subjected him to waterboarding and other coercive tactics that are widely viewed as torture during interrogation sessions—leading Mohammed’s later statements to a separate FBI team to be challenged by attorneys. According to the court order, which has not been publicly released, the CIA’s handling of Mohammed instilled in him a fear that he would be severely mistreated if he failed to comply with his interrogators.

Furthermore, the judge found that Mohammed was not given a Miranda warning informing him of the right to remain silent, and was told he could not speak to a lawyer. Rear Adm. Aaron C. Rugh, the prosecutor in the case, told The New York Times that the government would make a decision on whether to appeal in the near future.

Contrasting Perspectives on the 2007 Interrogation

Retired FBI agent Frank Pellegrino, who interviewed Mohammed in 2007, told CBS News he believes Mohammed confessed to his role in the Sept. 11 attacks voluntarily, stating that I couldn't have told him in any more explicit a way that he did not have to talk to me.

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At the same time, Pellegrino acknowledged the legal hurdles created by the prior interrogation environment, noting that Now, whether that fits within what is required legally, based on other activities, a court's got to decide that. Pellegrino and fellow agent Brian Antol spoke to CBS News in an upcoming special, Daughters of 9/11, which will premiere on Sept. 11, 2026, on CBS and Paramount+. Meanwhile, the advocacy group 9/11 Families United declined to comment on Friday’s ruling to Fox News Digital.

Trial Timeline Set for June 2028 Amid Legal Uncertainty

Schrama set a trial date for June 2028 earlier this week for Mohammed and three co-defendants: Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak ​bin ‘Atash, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali. In setting the schedule, the judge rejected a request by prosecutors to open the trial in January 2027, saying it would leave too little time for the resolution of pretrial evidentiary and compliance motions.

If convicted in the military court proceedings, Mohammed could face the death penalty. The case has experienced years of procedural delays, including turbulence surrounding plea agreements and failed efforts to secure plea agreements that have plagued the case. In 2024, Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi reached plea deals that would allow them to avoid capital punishment in exchange for serving life sentences and admitting their roles in the terror attacks. Those agreements were subsequently tossed out by an appeals court last year after Biden-era Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin overruled them amid criticism of the plea deal from many families of the victims, resulting in more litigation. The agreements also stipulated that the men answer any questions the families of the victims have about the attacks, and the defendants are all being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.