A military appeals court has determined that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin cannot overturn plea agreements for detainees at Guantanamo Bay, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is accused of orchestrating the 9/11 attacks. The decision, yet to be publicly posted, affirms that the plea deals crafted by military prosecutors and defense attorneys remain valid. The court found that Austin overstepped his authority by attempting to revoke the agreements.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon may seek an emergency review from the D.C. Circuit federal appeals court, although as of earlier this week, no filings were recorded in the court docket. A hearing is scheduled at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, next week where Mohammed and two other defendants might plead guilty, with the possibility of the death penalty being removed as a potential outcome.
Negotiated during the summer and sanctioned by the leading official of the military commission at Guantanamo, the plea agreements have sparked strong criticism from some 9/11 victims’ families and U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, responding to the plea deals earlier this year, slammed the Biden government for aggressively pursuing its domestic political adversaries—including President-elect Donald J. Trump and hundreds of January 6 protestors—while crafting agreements with known foreign Islamist terrorists.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other 9/11 plotters, held at the special U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, face charges of providing training, financial support, and other assistance to the al-Qaeda terrorists who perpetrated the attack.
