Media reports: Pentagon chief's effort to cancel 9/11 plea agreements unsuccessful
The agreements established during the summer may lead to the suspects admitting responsibility for the attacks, allowing them to evade the death penalty. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
The agreements reached in the summer could result in the suspects acknowledging responsibility for the attacks in exchange for avoiding the death penalty.
On Monday, a US military appeals court ruled that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin could not withdraw plea deals for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks, along with two other defendants in the case, according to US media reports.
The plea deals, negotiated over two years and finalized in late July, would allow the three suspects, currently held at Guantanamo Bay, to plead guilty to the attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives, potentially substituting the death penalty with life imprisonment.
Several outlets, including AP, the New York Times, and CBS News, reported the development on Tuesday, citing unnamed US officials, while the Pentagon has yet to issue an official statement regarding the matter.
According to media reports, the Department of Defense has submitted a motion to postpone the plea hearings until January 27 to consult with the Department of Justice about challenging the ruling in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The hearing for Mohammed is scheduled for next week.
In addition, Mohammed and two of his alleged associates agreed to respond to questions from the victims' families regarding their motives and roles in the attacks.
However, in early August, Austin decided to withdraw the plea deals, asserting in a memo that “in light of the significance” of the pretrial agreements, “responsibility for such a decision should rest with me.”
Defense attorneys have accused Austin of unlawfully interfering in the case, asserting he lacked the legal authority to revoke deals that had already received approval from the Guantanamo court’s top authority.
Their claims were supported by Air Force Colonel Matthew McCall, the military judge overseeing the case, who determined in November that Austin had exceeded his authority by withdrawing the agreements. McCall’s ruling prompted the Department of Defense to appeal to the military appeals court.
Mohammed and the other two men were captured in 2003 and held in several covert CIA prisons before being transferred to Guantanamo.
They were initially slated to stand trial in January 2021, but proceedings have been repeatedly delayed as defense attorneys contended that the use of torture against the suspects rendered substantial evidence inadmissible in court.
Sophie Wagner contributed to this report for TROIB News
On Monday, a US military appeals court ruled that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin could not withdraw plea deals for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks, along with two other defendants in the case, according to US media reports.
The plea deals, negotiated over two years and finalized in late July, would allow the three suspects, currently held at Guantanamo Bay, to plead guilty to the attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives, potentially substituting the death penalty with life imprisonment.
Several outlets, including AP, the New York Times, and CBS News, reported the development on Tuesday, citing unnamed US officials, while the Pentagon has yet to issue an official statement regarding the matter.
According to media reports, the Department of Defense has submitted a motion to postpone the plea hearings until January 27 to consult with the Department of Justice about challenging the ruling in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The hearing for Mohammed is scheduled for next week.
In addition, Mohammed and two of his alleged associates agreed to respond to questions from the victims' families regarding their motives and roles in the attacks.
However, in early August, Austin decided to withdraw the plea deals, asserting in a memo that “in light of the significance” of the pretrial agreements, “responsibility for such a decision should rest with me.”
Defense attorneys have accused Austin of unlawfully interfering in the case, asserting he lacked the legal authority to revoke deals that had already received approval from the Guantanamo court’s top authority.
Their claims were supported by Air Force Colonel Matthew McCall, the military judge overseeing the case, who determined in November that Austin had exceeded his authority by withdrawing the agreements. McCall’s ruling prompted the Department of Defense to appeal to the military appeals court.
Mohammed and the other two men were captured in 2003 and held in several covert CIA prisons before being transferred to Guantanamo.
They were initially slated to stand trial in January 2021, but proceedings have been repeatedly delayed as defense attorneys contended that the use of torture against the suspects rendered substantial evidence inadmissible in court.
Sophie Wagner contributed to this report for TROIB News
