A federal appeals court affirmed on Friday that former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin “indisputably” had the authority to revoke a plea agreement made with three alleged 9/11 terrorists.
The question in front of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals was whether Austin had the legal authority to withdraw the deals, which were negotiated over two years and given to Khalid Sheik Mohammed, Mustafa al Hawsawi, and Walid Bin Attash to remove the possibility of the death penalty in exchange for life in prison without parole and guilty pleas. They would have also had to answer questions from the loved ones of victims of the 9/11 attacks.
“The Secretary of Defense indisputably had legal authority to withdraw from the agreements; the plain and unambiguous text of the pretrial agreements shows that no performance of promises had begun,” court documents outlining the 2-1 decision of the court said.
DoD announced the initial plea deal on July 31, 2024, while Austin revoked the deal just days later, on Aug. 2, after the announcement was met with significant criticism. In the memo announcing Austin’s decision, he wrote, “I have determined that, in light of the significance of the decision to enter into pre-trial agreements with the accused in the above-referenced case, responsibility should rest with me.”
A military judge subsequently ruled that the agreement was valid and threw out Austin’s revocation of the deal, a decision the Pentagon appealed in January.
Friday’s ruling tossed that decision, ruling that Austin acted within the scope of his authority.
TRUMP’S FIRST SIX MONTHS TESTS US DEFENSE STOCKPILES — AND LIMITED PRODUCTION
The cases of the alleged perpetrators of the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil have spanned nearly 25 years. The prosecutions have faced several hiccups over the years as the U.S. government seeks to hold the perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans responsible.
A major hurdle has been the intelligence community’s use of enhanced interrogation methods or torture against alleged terrorists housed at Guantanamo Bay and other facilities.
