Five Sept. 11 Detainees Ask to Confess and Enter Guilty Plea

Five Guantanamo detainees charged with plotting the Sept. 11 attacks are seeking to confess and plead guilty.

Accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed explained to a military judge today why he and his co-defendants were ready to enter guilty pleas, the New York Times reports.

“We don’t want to waste our time with motions,” Mohammed said. “All of you are paid by the U.S. government. I’m not trusting any American.”

The five men said they decided to plead guilty on the day Barack Obama was elected president, the Associated Press reports. “It was as if they wanted to rush toward convictions before Obama—who has vowed to end the war-crimes trials and close Guantanamo—takes office,” the AP story says. The Times says the detainees may be seeking a chance to criticize the military trial system and gain exposure for their political views.

The judge, Col. Steven Henley, asked the prosecutors to submit briefs on whether the Military Commissions Act permits the death penalty without a vote of a military panel that serves as a jury in Guantanamo cases. He also said he would not permit two of the defendants whose competency has been questioned to make immediate decisions about their cases.