The Pentagon intends to challenge a recent ruling by a military court that deemed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s decision to invalidate plea deals for several accused 9/11 co-conspirators improper, a defense official tells NBC News.
“We intend to seek postponement of any hearing on the pleas or pretrial agreements during that time,” the official said.
In July, prosecutors announced they had entered into pretrial plea agreements with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi. The deal would have allowed them to plead guilty to lesser charges that would prevent them from receiving the death penalty.
But in a shocking move days later, Austin withdrew the controversial plea deals and removed Susan Escallier, the convening authority for military commissions, from the case. Austin said in a letter addressed to Escallier that the “responsibility for such a decision should rest with me.”
The three are being tried in a military commission because they are deemed enemy combatants.
Mohammed is accused of being a mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, which killed 2,977 people. He and several other defendants, including the two others included in the plea agreement, were initially charged and arraigned in 2008 in connection with their alleged roles in the attack.
The three detainees filed motions to plead guilty and argued that Austin’s decision violated the rules. A judge in the case agreed, ruling last week that Austin operated outside his authority to invalidate the plea deals and declared the plea deals valid and enforceable.
