Team Biden is botching the case vs. 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed & Co.

Seeing that 9/11 terrorists pay for their crimes in full should be a top federal priority.Yet a military judge just ruled that since-rescinded pleas deal sparing the lives of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two accomplices must go back in effect.Huh? If that ruling stands, the trio won’t have to face the death penalty — depriving 9/11’s victims, their loved ones and the nation itself of the justice they’re owed.Without a doubt, Team Biden deserves the blame for this nightmare: A senior Pentagon official tapped by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin signed off on the deals in July, allowing KSM & Co.

to plead guilty in exchange for life imprisonment.Yet if ever a case warranted death sentences, 9/11 is it.Anything short of that dishonors the victims and compounds their and their families’ pain.Indeed, the fury that erupted after news of the deals broke led Austin to quickly override his appointee and rescind them, announcing that he’d been unaware of the deals before they were inked,.

Morning Report and Evening Update: Your source for today's top stories Please provide a valid email address.By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Never miss a story.Great.

But now the judge, Col.Matthew McCall, says Austin acted too late and lacked the authority to back out.Did it really take him three months to figure that out, or was he waiting until after Election Day?This reeks of politics, not justice: game-playing by McCall if not someone higher up the chain of command who (rightly) feared the backlash would hurt Kamala Harris’ bid for the White House.

Whatever: It’s President Biden’s duty, and Austin’s, to appeal McCall’s ruling — and they, or President Trump after Jan.20, need to straighten out the entire military court system, which has been dithering amid claims that the case is difficult to try, or technical legal issues confounded a p...