Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., on Saturday voiced her outrage over the Biden Administration's initial decision to offer a plea deal to Sept. 11 terrorists that avoided the death penalty.
"As a representative of many New York firefighters, police officers, first responders, and victims' families — Malliotakis found the decision wholly outrageous and unacceptable," Malliotakis told Newsmax’s "Saturday Report."
"Well, as somebody who represents Staten Island and Brooklyn and New York City, home to firefighters, to police officers and 1st responders and so many sadly victims of family members, it was completely outrageous and unacceptable that this administration would enter into a plea deal that would allow these monster terrorists to avoid the death penalty," she said.
She emphasized the need for justice, noting that it has been 23 years since the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center towers in New York City.
"It's been 23 years; we need to have this trial date set," she said. "And we should be pursuing nothing less than the death penalty. I'll be joined by some family members and first responders on Monday to call for just that because anything less than the death penalty is unacceptable, and we need this administration to hear that loud and clear."
Regarding the Biden plea deal, Malliotakis added, "It's absolutely outrageous and certainly not what Americans deserved. And these families that have suffered for the last few decades seeking justice."
She questioned the motivations behind pursuing the plea deal and called for transparency, expressing her support for House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer's request for all communications regarding the terrorists.
"The American people need to know what exactly transpired here," she said.
"In many ways, this administration and the Democrats have forgotten the atrocities of [Sept. 11] because they have a wide-open border. They're allowing individuals to flow in freely, millions of them," she lamented.
She also slammed Vice President Kamala Harris for appointing her brother-in-law to her political campaign as a top adviser.
"Look how shocking it is that today we learned that [V.P.] Kamala Harris has appointed her brother-in-law, who actually defended a convicted terrorist, an enemy combatant caught by the American military. Now, that's going to be her top advisor. Give me a break," she said.
"We need to be serious about our national security and securing our border, particularly when our ally Israel is at war, particularly after the botched Afghanistan withdrawal with thousands of ISIS-K and Al Qaeda fighters were released from Bagram Air Base. We need to be serious, and this administration is not serious about national security," she emphasized.
On Friday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revoked the plea deal for the Sept. 11 mastermind and his co-conspirators, relieving the overseer after years of negotiation. In a memo released that night, Austin asserted that such a critical decision "should rest with me," CNN reported.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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