Court rules former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had authority to throw out plea deals for 9/11 alleged conspirators

A federal appeals court determined that former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin “indisputably” had the authority to cancel plea agreements made last year with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants accused of plotting the 9/11 terror attack.

A federal appeals court determined that former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin “indisputably” had the authority to cancel plea agreements made last year with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants accused of plotting the 9/11 terror attack. The decision overturns a ruling by a military judge last year that plea agreements setting aside the possibility of the death penalty for the men were “valid and enforceable,” after Austin revoked the deals months before. “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 decision of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals said. Wells Dixon, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights who previously represented another Guantanamo detainee, Majid Khan, criticized the court ruling on Friday, saying it will “ensure nothing but the continued lack of justice and accountability for anyone involved in the military commissions.” “The Biden administration’s effort to invalidate the plea agreements that would resolve in lasting convictions and life sentences for the 9/11 defendants was inexplicable,” Dixon said. “It was a painful betrayal of the 9/11 victim family members, because we know after more than two decades of litigation at Guantanamo, and we know from experience, that the 9/11 cases will never be resolved through a contested trial.” “Putting aside the fantasy that this case is ever going to go to trial — assuming it does go to trial and that there’s a conviction — you get to sentencing, and they have a right to put forward evidence … that they were tortured. That’s never going to happen,” Dixon added.