US Military Court Upholds Ruling That Defense Secretary Invalidated 9/11 Attack Plea Deals Improperly
A US military court has upheld a judge’s ruling that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin acted improperly when he invalidated plea agreements for three men accused of planning the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The three-judge panel concluded that Austin did not have the authority to back out of deals implemented by Susan Escallier, the convening authority for military commissions appointed by the defense secretary.
The agreements, which were announced in August, allowed the defendants to plead guilty to lesser charges that would prevent them from receiving the death penalty. The court ruled that Austin’s intervention in existing pretrial agreements was “without precedent” and that it would be unjust and outside the bounds of his authority to dismantle the deal retroactively.
The ruling affirms a lower court’s finding that the three defendants, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, should be allowed to move forward with their plea deals. All three are accused of aiding, abetting, and conspiring to carry out the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and other sites.
Austin withdrew Escallier’s authority to make the plea deals on August 2, saying that “responsibility for such a decision should rest with me.” However, the court ruled that Austin’s decision was improper and that the existence of a convening authority who can negotiate plea deals and a boss who can unravel them is not supported under military justice.