9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and 2 others reach plea deal
(WASHINGTON) — Three of the five 9/11 defendants at Guantanamo — including mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammad — have reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.
The trial of the five 9/11 conspirators had been stuck in legal delays for a very long time. No details about the specific terms and conditions of the pre-trial agreement have been made public. The other two conspirators who have agreed to the agreement aside from Mohammad are Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi.
Last September, ABC News reported that President Biden rejected a set of demands to form a basis for plea negotiations offered by the five defendants.
Biden agreed with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s recommendation not to accept their demands known as a “joint policy principles” that they wanted prior to entering into plea agreement talks with prosecutors. According to the the New York Times, those demands included avoiding solitary confinement and receiving health treatment for injuries the detainees claim were a result of CIA interrogation methods when they were in the CIA’s
(PHILADELPHIA) — During the face-off between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump during Tuesday’s ABC News presidential debate, both candidates tried to score points by slinging barbs at each other.
Here are some of them:
Trump: “Wait a minute, I’m talking now, if you don’t mind, please. Does that sound familiar?”
— While Trump was trying to claim Harris supported defunding the police, she could be seen saying his statement was “not true.” Despite her microphone being muted. But Trump clearly heard her. His comment was a callback to Harris’ viral chiding of Mike Pence during their vice presidential debate in 2020 when she told him “Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking” during one of the most viral moments of the night.
Harris: “Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people.”
— When asked about Trump’s recent threat to prosecute those who “cheated” during the 2020 presidential election and his intimidation tactics, that was Harris’ response. She added that he is “having a very difficult time processing that,” referring to his refusing to concede he lost the 2020 election.
Trump: “She’s going to my philosophy now. In fact, I was going to send her a MAGA hat.”
— Trump on how Harris’ earlier policies have evolved to be similar to his.
Harris: “He talks about fictional characters like Hannibal Lecter.”
— Harris mocked what she said is Trump’s inability to address problems and engage in solutions and talked about topics he addresses instead in his rallies.
Trump: “Run, spot, run”
— Trump mocked Harris’ economic plan, which he said was copied from President Joe Biden’s plan, saying it’s as short as “four sentences” and summarized it as, “Run, spot, run,” despite that only being three words.
Harris: “Friendship with what is known to be a dictator who would eat you for lunch.”
— When asked about Ukraine, Harris touted what her administration has done to “preserve the ability of [President Zolodymyr] Zelenskyy and the Ukrainians to fight for their independence.” Referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threats against neighboring Poland, she asked him, “And why don’t you tell the 800,000 Polish Americans right here in Pennsylvania how quickly you would give up for the sake of favor and what you think is a friendship with what is known to be a dictator who would eat you for lunch.”
Harris: “You’re not running against Joe Biden, you’re running against me.”
— After Trump engaged in a series of criticisms of Biden and his handling of Ukraine, Harris was quick to point out who the current presidential candidate is.
(CHICAGO) — Keisha Lance Bottoms served as mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, from 2018 to 2022, before joining the Biden administration as senior adviser and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement until 2023.
She served the Biden campaign as a senior adviser, a role she has also taken on with the Harris-Walz campaign.
At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Bottoms sat down with ABC News’ Linsey Davis on Tuesday to talk about organizing the gathering in the wake of President Biden’s decision not to run in November, her home state’s election board and the message the Harris-Walz campaign needs to send to win in November.
ABC NEWS: We are joined now by former Atlanta mayor, Biden senior campaign adviser, Ms. Keisha Lance Bottoms. Thank you so much for joining us.
BOTTOMS: Thank you for having me, Linsey.
ABC NEWS: So let’s talk about 30 days that it’s been for you guys to get all this together. Give us a sense of behind the scenes, what it took.
BOTTOMS: Well, it seems like it’s been dog years, I think, for all of America. But of course, there were plans underway, [2024 DNC Chair] Minyon Moore and the entire team have done an incredible job in not only pulling this convention together, but then making a pivot to make sure that this convention is fitting for Vice President Kamala Harris.
And you can feel the energy in this building. You see the lights, you hear the music. But there is such excitement and enthusiasm. And then, of course, such a warm response to President Biden last night.
ABC NEWS: Of course Georgia once again, in major play. We have JD Vance, who’s heading to Georgia later on this week. Let’s talk about the changes that were made, the state election board changes that could actually potentially delay certification. What does that mean? What’s being done to try to combat it?
BOTTOMS: It is unbelievable that in 2024, the state election board in Georgia is still talking about the 2020 election and attempting to revisit this alleged steal that didn’t happen in 2020. But I was so glad to see that the secretary of state has spoken up, spoken out against the changes proposed. The attorney general has spoken out.
And by the way, these are both Republican election officials who said enough is enough. We need to move forward. Focus on 2024, making sure we are preserving the integrity of this election. And so I think what’s happening in Georgia is that there is bipartisan agreement that we need to move on, and it would be great if so many other states would do the same.
ABC NEWS: You talked about the emotional speech and reception that Joe Biden got in here last night. He talked during that speech about appointing the first Black and South Asian woman as his vice president, delivering on his promise to appoint Ketanji [Brown Jackson] as a Supreme Court justice, first Black woman to the Supreme Court.
What do you think that will mean? How will it resonate for Black voters? Because as we know, we saw during the RNC, Donald Trump is actively pursuing Black voters.
BOTTOMS: Yeah. And to his credit, he’s not taking anyone for granted. And that’s why it’s going to be important for all of us as surrogates — we heard the president do it last night — to remind people what his presidency, what the Biden-Harris administration has meant for African Americans, he made commitments that he kept: first African American woman on the Supreme Court and so many other federal appointments of people of color. And the Court of Appeals and district courts.
And I think all of us are keenly aware, I have a, I’m a lawyer, so I pay attention to courts, but most Americans don’t. But of course, we know with the Dobbs decision and so many other decisions coming from the Supreme Court – people are really starting to pay attention as to what these lifetime appointments mean for their day-to-day lives. So we just gotta keep reminding people that this president, this vice president made a difference.
Kamala Harris has been a strong partner and leader in this White House. And the president laid out the work that she’s going to, that she’s taking the baton and the work that she’s going to continue and expand upon.
ABC NEWS: Keisha Lance bottoms, we thank you so much for your time, really appreciate you joining us.
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris will hold a fundraiser in Los Angeles on Sept. 29, according to an invite obtained by ABC News — just a few days after former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton host fundraisers for her in the same area.
According to the Sept. 29 invite, tickets range from $500 to $1 million — with the $500 tickets already sold out. The pricier tickets include a reception with Harris, a “liberty luncheon” and a photo opportunity.
Obama and Clinton will also be holding separate Los Angeles fundraisers for the vice president on Sept. 20, according to an invite and a source familiar with the planning.
Clinton’s fundraiser will be a lunchtime appearance with guests such as actresses Jamie Lee Curtis and Sally Field in attendance. Obama’s fundraiser will be a nighttime fundraiser on the same day.
Obama will begin to hold larger campaign events for Harris beginning next month as well as candidate-specific events for down-ballot races, the source said.
Harris’ fundraiser, first reported by Deadline, marks her first fundraising appearance in the Los Angeles area since she announced her campaign.
Obama, George Clooney and Julia Roberts hosted a fundraiser for then-candidate President Joe Biden in June in Los Angeles, which raised $30 million for Biden’s campaign.
Harris’ campaign said it raised $361 million in August — her first full month as a candidate — from nearly three million donors. Former President Donald Trump’s campaign said it raised $130 million in August.
The campaign has been attempting to seize on to the momentum the debate garnered for the candidate by setting course on an intense campaign schedule they’re calling “A New Way Forward,” labeling themselves as “underdogs” despite poll numbers that suggest Harris fared better than Trump in the debate.
Americans by 58-36% say Harris won the debate — a reversal from the Biden-Trump match in June, which Trump was seen as winning by 66-28%, according to the latest ABC News/Ipsos poll.
Harris has several appearances scheduled for this week, including an event with the National Association of Black Journalists on Tuesday, a live-streamed event with Oprah Winfrey in Michigan on Thursday and campaign stops in Wisconsin on Friday.